The Slowdown is supported by the Collective Trauma Summit.

You're invited to attend a free online event featuring in-depth interviews and poetry readings

by eight award-winning poets, including Ada Lemone, Natasha Trethway, Jericho Brown,

Carolyn Forshey, Andrea Gibson, Claudia Ranking, Jake Skietz, and Padricotuma.

They will all be appearing at the Collective Trauma Summit,

an online gathering of artists, activists, scientists, and visionaries

to explore the effects of trauma in our society, and to inspire a collective healing movement.

Go to CollectiveTraumaSummit.com slash poets to register for the free event which starts September

26. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Life can be overwhelming when my calendar is filled to

the brim. It's hard to concentrate on anything else. My thoughts are constantly racing with

a never-ending to-do list until I remember what therapy taught me to slow down and be present.

If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online and

suited for business schedules like mine. Get a break from your thoughts with BetterHelp.

Visit BetterHelp.com slash slowdown today and get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp.

H-E-L-P dot com slash slowdown.

I'm Major Jackson, and this is the slowdown.

I've come to believe parenting is tantamount to, synonymous with, is just another word for

going to the beach. I just, but how many times have I loaded a car with towels, a box of Cheetos

and plastic toys? Let's admit, it's cheap fun that goes a long way in the family memory department.

I recently wrote a poem about my adult son and daughter at Long Beach Island.

I was surprised to remember light sand and anesthesia's locks and Langston carrying a horseshoe

crab by its tail. I love watching my children's laughter run into the sea. I loved their joyous

...