Comedy Through The Chaos: 2026 Is Upon Us

Hello, hello, hello and Happy Thursday to you cadres here or no hello as my kiddo just said. Hey everybody, I'm Ms. Shannon Paul and I'm a variety of word related things including a comedian, a corporate speaker, a voice actor, an event MC and a benefit auctioneer. I hub out of the great state of Minnesota which is very Minnesota wintry today. So I will be shoveling and snow blowing later today. I'm also the proud parents of an adorable 17 year old kiddo who happens to be high supports on the autism spectrum and I am so happy to see Speak Wonder in the building.

Hello my friend. Happy New Year to you. I hope that you are well. I saw your post from earlier today. As I continue explaining who I am, I did want to tell you that I really always appreciate the wonderful, wonderful words that you share. Yeah, you said that thunder a thunders a thunder snowstorm or however you promote pronounced it. I don't think I know those exist. I don't recall ever being party to that here in Minnesota. I have seen it. Happy New Year to you as well. That was a move into an interesting season.

So it was. You know I'll bring you guys up to speed on where I am, but real quick I want thundersnow. There you go. I did want to let you know I will say goodbye in 5ish minutes, give or take. So I. Yeah, it seems so. It seems so. But I like it when weather gets to use all of its terminology. So that's good. My other favorite winter no weather related term is grapple, which is like small ice pellets that are kind of the size of a grain of rice. So it's kind of in between sleet and like snow. So you have grapple, which I think is funny.

My other weather word that I'm a fan of is ponding. Ponding, which really just means big puddles. But it's just not nearly as nuanced just to say big puddles. So we get to say ponding. So and I also appreciated the lovely poem that you shared this morning. I always enjoy everything that you read, but partially it's because you're voice and the way that you deliver those words are always so wonderful and to hear you this morning even use the word delightful. I just the way that you said delightful that is.

I was like I am delighted, Kathy. I'm delighted to hear you say that say that word. So I am also delighted to be able to join everybody here in the Cadre sphere as we move into 2026. The thing I think is Interesting is that sometimes we act like we get a hard stop and then we get this whole rebirth and this giant transition because we came at New Year's and I kind of. And one of those people where I'm just like, no, it's just the transition of a season, you know, And I don't like to use the word just lightly, but for me, that's especially a thing where it's going.

It's really one of those. It's a transition, not a stop, not a halting and a new beginning in my life. And I'm curious for all of you who are part of the cadres, if that's how you see it or if it does seem like, oh, no, I can use that as a hard stop and then a re start on the other side. For me personally, it's always interesting because of the things that I do career wise. I'm often out and about on New Year's Eve. Like, I rarely have a New Year's Eve where I'm just hanging out, you know, at home.

It is a segue. There we go. That makes sense. Yeah, kind of thing. I kind of see it that way too. Speak, wonder. I'm usually out someplace. Like, as a radio dj, there were many years where I was the one that was doing the countdown at the end of the evening and waiting for everybody to say happy New Year and shoot off their noise makers and all of those things. Or similar to what I did last night. I had a comedy show in a place about an hour from where I live. And so since it is wintry, my sister's like, oh, they offered you a hotel room?

Just spend the night and then drive back. Because she doesn't like it when I. She's. She's very concerned about my safety. Even though I've been a road comic for many, many years. She does not like me driving long distances at night, especially on icy roads. So she was kind enough to watch my kiddo, Mr. Adorable 17 Year Old on the autism spectrum overnight, which can sometimes just be a pain. Like he doesn't always sleep great. So I really am very grateful for them having a peaceful evening last night so I could kind of hang out and watch everybody during the festivities after the show.

The shows just, you know, the comedy shows went great. We had a fun, wonderful time. The audiences were fantastic. And I'll post some clips of the least. The second show. I think I recorded part of it on my phone. I'll put some of that up. But the concepts and the discussions that I was having with People. Yeah, a long time road comic. I'll tell you some stories. So the thing I think is interesting when I'm talking to people on holidays like New Year's Eve, where you can use it as a segue or look at it like it's some sort of finish line, is seeing the differences in the mentalities of people that look at each one of them.

And some people, I feel like they're almost looking at it like if I just make it to this one, then I can start changes in my life. And I think some of the rest of us look at more of how can I get a on ramp into the next season? So I don't expect to go, well, I can have all of this happen and all this negativity or whatever that is right up until 11:59 on New Year's Eve. And then once we hit midnight, that's when the change happens for me, I'm like, no, it's just something where, you know, it gets to.

We get to commemorate, you know, and be grateful for how far we've come. It gives us a tangible set of time. I love that you talked about time earlier today, Kathy. A tangible set of time to go. Did I achieve some goals? Did I do that? And so a lot of people having that tangible set of times, that 12 calendar months, it gives them a. That framework for what they want to change. You know, I grew up my and go back and watch Speak Wonder's definition of talking about time because mine is very different because I grew up in a sci fi household and so a lot of my conversations when I was younger, you can't, you should probably know by my melanated Wonder Woman, a lot of my conversations about time when I was younger came from a show that my mom and I used to watch together called Doctor who And Doctor who, the main character, the Doctor, happens to be what they call a Time Lord.

So for him time is very fluid. And he has a thing that you call it Tardis, which is shaped like a British police box, where he gets to pop around back and forth through time. And so that was something I really wanted to be able to do when I was a kid is to go on those adventures and not necessarily change time, but to not have to really be a part of it in such a linear way. So I think I've just been very accustomed to seeing time as something that doesn't have a hard stop. It has a variety of different continuations where things are happening simultaneously in different ways.

And so last night was a good example of that like being able to go, it's really surreal to be I was at this casino telling jokes in front of people that I don't know, hoping that they have a good time, hoping I can be able to handle what it, you know, whatever the situation puts in front of me and that I have the, the skill set to be able to deal with that. And so when you look at what I do as a career, when you look at what I do as a caregiver, it is very similar where I can prepare as best as I can, but then I still have to go, well what you're really doing is collecting things in your caregiver toolkit so that when things pop up in sometimes a linear fashion or sometimes in a non linear way that you're able to go, well, you know, I got something in here that I can deal with this with, you know, yes buddy, I know I'm gonna say goodbye.

And so it's keeping track of those things. And so I encourage people to not necessari clearly be so rigid in the way that they deal with certain things or in the expectations that they have about how those things will come at them. Because I think that's when a lot of us get stuck is in that rigidity. And to piggyback onto what I talked about last week, which really resonated with me personally, we were going through a lot of us here in the Cadre sphere, had a homework assignment of what word were we moving into 2026 with as far as like intentionality or those type of things and what you really were using as your, your, your North Star, we'll say.

And so at the time I was like, well, grace, you know, that's the word that I'm going to use, you know, kind of thing. It's something that has really given me peace throughout this particular season of my life as a caregiver and just a human in general, but also something that I wanted to make continue as I moved on because it's something that I think, you know, I necess didn't have necessarily get my PhD in grace in the last six months, but it's something that I'm like, it really did make a difference for me and I think it can continue to grow.

And then as I continued to think about that I was like, you know, yes, grace is important, but what it's also been. And, and I'm glad that you're here speak wonder because it was me crafting a live stream that was inspired by what you so deftly share all the time. Is thinking about the way that Speak Wonder talks about navigating choppy waters, thanks to the Harper palates, is what made me think about so much of our experience, is navigating those things. And what I've learned and what I have benefited from in my experiences is the buoyancy.

Being able to be buoyant in these difficult times, to be able to go, you know what, I can bob around in the water, but hopefully I don't sink. And sometimes the water is choppier than other times. Sometimes it's a really nice float, and sometimes you're like, wow, that was a lot. But being able to ride all of those differentiations in how the waters are going to happen is something that has really been of great value to me and something that I think I will definitely need as I move on. And so it really did change my methodology as I was moving and continuing to move into this season and go, you know what I need?

I need buoyancy. You know, I need the ability to bob, you know, in choppy waters, because in my experience and in what I deal with, choppy waters are guaranteed to continue to happen. That is the only thing that I know is continued, is guaranteed, is that things will continue to be chaotic, because that's what happens. So being able to be buoyant is something that I think I can practice. Sometimes. That means that you have to figure out, hey, do I have something that's attached to me that's weighing me down?

Do I have something that can help me stay afloat? Are there skill sets that I can need that when things are choppy, this will help me stay upright? And that's where I'm exploring right now. And what I encourage you to explore and read and so homework assignments for this week. The first thing is I just wondered if you'd given any thought to. And if not, here's your opportunity to what's helped you stay afloat recently? Even on the hard days? What is it that has helped you stay afloat? For me, personally, it's been being able to be more present in certain moments.

So I think that it gives me more space, it gives him more trust that I will get around to giving him my full and undivided attention again. It's gonna happen. So that's something that I'm like, hey, that has worked. Like, giving more space for us to just do our version of chill out and to be present has been very impactful. So what's helped you, you know, stay afloat on those difficult days? This is the first thing I encourage you to think about over the next week or so and the next thing is as we were exploring our words, if you want to just think about on your own, you know, what word or mindset are you carrying as we continue into this new season?

So what word or mindset are you carrying as we continue into this new season? So again, not something that you have to have an answer to right now, but something that might help you or something to think about. If you get stuck in the land of rumination, there's something for you to think about instead. So hopefully that does help you. So I am going to wait for my sister to come over. We're gonna have some black eyed peas and some other things on our our New Year's Eve. I'm gonna go snow blow because of the winter that came here.

So I always appreciate you. I always want to remind you that I hope that the day continues. Well, if it doesn't, shame on it. Not shame on you. We are so happy that you are here in the Cadre sphere. If you haven't had a chance to go see Speak Wonders post, you're watching me in the replay, go watch her in the replay as well. And coming up later today at 4:00 Central, our good friend Rachel will be doing Rachel's room so you can check her out as well. So peace to all of you. I will see you back here on Saturday morning at 10am Central for another version of Comedy through the chaos.

In the meantime, be well, at least the best you can. So thank you so much. Speak Wonder. The feeling is mutual. Virtual hugs to you, sis. See you soon.