since 1978

If there was a list of Frequently Asked Questions of the holiday season, there’s one that I think might rise to the very top that would actually have nothing to do with the season: “What’s new?” You’ll get asked this by friends you’re reconnecting with, relatives you haven’t seen in a long time, even new people you meet for the first time at holiday parties. It sounds like a simple enough of a question to answer and it gets asked all the time, but it often catches me off guard. As innocuous of a question as it may be, it’s one that really deserves more than the usual passing reply of, “Hmmm, not much.”