It’s back to school time.

And with it comes the shift to early mornings, realizing your kid already grew out of their new school clothes, bracing yourself for homework, and listening to the drama — the bus driver who missed a stop, the teachers who share personal info, the mean kids, the shy kids, and hoping your kid is a helper, always. It’s relearning how to get into the Parent Portal, buying endless snacks, and remembering if today is a ‘B Day’ when they need to bring in their instrument. It’s calls from the school nurse on the second day because your kid got poked in the eye with a marker (she’s OK), calming anxieties surrounding their new locker combo, worrying that they’re having a good day, worrying that they have a good teacher, worrying, worrying. The endless worry that comes with being a parent.

And in the midst of all of it, let’s throw in an unforeseen storm that knocks out the power for two days, killing the fish tank bubbler, and with it, a cherished fish…

But at least I got to cross something off my bucket list this week.

My earliest memories are of searching. Whether it’s special rocks, shiny bits of minerals, mushrooms or morsels, I am a natural born treasure hunter. Bliss for me is walking along the shore searching for sea glass, combing the racks of my favorite thrift shop, scanning titles as I slowly run my finger along a dusty bookshelf, probing the woods for tasty edibles, and watching with baited breath for something to pop out at me; the glint of polished stone, a pleasing fabric, a mysterious spine… That excitement when you find something is simply magical.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to visit Herkimer, NY (about 2.5 hours north of here) to mine for Herkimer diamonds — double-terminated quartz crystals buried within exposed outcroppings of dolomite. I’d heard the stories from my older brothers, who got to go. I would look longingly at the diamonds they brought home, and weigh the gleaming gems in my hand.

But I never made it there myself … until this past weekend.

Though we had no power at our house due to the aforementioned outage, we packed up sledgehammers, pickaxes and other implements of destruction, and made the trek. All three of us as giddy as, well, school children. We got there, set up camp and got straight to digging, as clouds overhead moved map-shaped shadows along the rock bed.

The next morning, we met an older lady at our campsite, and once she liked us, she revealed where to find the very best diamonds. Not an easy spot to access; it involved a steep climb up a mountain face at the farthest end of the site, and then squeezing underneath exposed roots of a large tree. I couldn’t get there fast enough. Even though it was misting off and on, making the rocks slick, I bounded up that mountain, right to the spot she’d told us about. I found two soccer-ball sized rocks with veins that glinted, and made my way, slowly and painstakingly, back down the mountain.

When I reached the base, my husband and daughter had found several small diamonds, ranging in size from a pin-head to a pencil eraser. I handed over the rocks I found and we went to work on them. One didn’t have much of anything, but the other — you would have thought we just won the lottery — there, inside the second rock, was a gorgeous, multi-faceted, perfectly-clear diamond, about the size of a quarter.

That moment in time is one I revisit frequently; it’s definitely one that has already firmly ensconced itself as ‘family lore.’ And even though their Trading Post offered us $150 for our find, we refused to sell it. It’s just too special.

When we left Herkimer, covered head to toe in dirt, everything aching, after eating meals over an open fire, far away from screens and even signal, and reveling in each other’s company, we all felt like we had tapped into something elemental. We talked about some big life topics, some school fears and possibilities, childhood memories, and future hopes. And as I looked around at my family, I realized that all the treasures I could find are no match for the ones right here beside me.

— Amberly Jane Campbell