The big yellow buses are rolling, and even for me, school has begun. In fact, I’ve just finished hours of homework for a graduate class, once again ignoring my daughters’ recommendation — “Mom, you don’t have to do all the reading.”

I’ll say what I always do: But I want to do all the reading. Or in this case, the reading and the listening/watching, since this first assignment included a lengthy podcast. I’ve taken pages of notes on how emotions are made, and though much of it is over my head, some of it has permeated the old gray matter. 

I’ve learned that we have more control over our emotions than we think we do, that we can take an unpleasant feeling and work with it. 

This is just the first set of readings, of course. I imagine it will get more complicated. But when I start to feel overwhelmed, I’ll think back to these first readings, and they will help.