I probably have mentioned that I'm really into crystals now. I just like them, and if I like them, then that's fine. Who are you to judge me for my interest in and affinity for shiny rocks?

Anyway, each week, I choose some to put on my desk, and then some students are drawn to them, and we talk about them. Sometimes, a kid will hold on to a crystal during class. My intuition told me to give a tiger's eye quartz to one student who then won a bunch of swimming races. So, we can all agree crystals enhance our lives and our powers.

Yesterday, a student came to see me during Flex time. She was experiencing grief and overwhelm, and since I'm not a professional counselor, I suggested she might want to hold on to crystal for the rest of the day. (I also, for the record, encouraged her to wander down the hall to see a professional counselor, which she then did.) From the crystal dish, the student chose a Botswana agate. We looked up its special properties and were amazed to discover it was good for grieving people! Crystals for the win!

At the end of the day, the student came back to me looking distraught. "I'm so sorry!" she shrieked.

"For what?!" I felt momentarily alarmed.

But then, it turned out that all that had happened was that she'd accidentally thrown away the crystal with her lunch garbage as if it were a retainer. No biggie. The crystals are actually rocks that I buy from a website for a nominal bulk price.

"You know," I told her, "crystal people would tell you its a sign that you no longer needed that particular one, that it had served its purpose." I arched an eyebrow.

"But, it happened like five minutes after you gave it to me." I could tell the student felt bad about bursting my bubble.

Yesterday, I couldn't make sense of the crystal loss, but now I think the purpose of the whole thing was to give the student and me something to laugh about together. And also to provide fodder for this exact blog entry.