Hey there, it's Major.

As we take a look back at the slowdown's deep well of episodes,

we're revisiting some standout moments from past hosts.

Today, we're going into the vault to bring you an episode from Tracy K. Smith,

one of the voices that helped shape the slowdown into what it is today.

This is just one of the many special selections from our archives.

I'm Tracy K. Smith, and this is The Slowdown.

Thank you. The Slowdown. Sometimes a dance party is the only means of conflict resolution in my house.

The kids are beginning to feel restless and cagey.

We're all feeling that way.

So when tempers flare, we crank Lizzo, David Bowie, James Brown,

and a bevy of 1980s dance hits that take my husband and me back to an awkward and oddly comforting mental place.

Everyone gets to shake their thing, and then, magically, our household is restored to harmony,

or semi-harmonie.

The other morning, I woke up to the almost alarmingly adorable sight of all three kids eating breakfast while singing along to space oddity.

If Atticus had decided to don the rainbow-colored wig he sometimes wears, I would have had to lie back down.

It would have been too much cuteness to bear,

even for me. I wonder if it might be a good idea, while homeschooling is in effect for most of us,

to delve still deeper into the archive of useful and danceable music. Mondays, roll up to the school week with Grace Jones.

If it's Tuesday, it must be Earth, Wind, and Fire Day. Wednesdays, all prints, all the time.

You get the picture. More than just fun, it could be an empowering exercise in boundary busting and persona building.

Today's poem is Minneapolis Lipstick by Rachel McKibbons.

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