Featured Author
Sandy Hoban
Biography
Sandy Hoban is an Evergreen freelance writer and teacher who spends much of her time outside absorbing nature, reading, and walking her three pups. She raised her two young adult children in these mountains and lives to write about it. As she embarks on the empty nest chapter, Sandy’s essays candidly discuss the growing pains and discoveries she encounters along the way. She also writes the Art Scene column and you can read more of her work at sandyhobanwrites.com
ARTICLES
Empty Silence
Oh, tenacious moth. Why do you torment me so? Flitting about with no destination. An exhausting holding pattern. Repetitive smacking Into my blank laptop Blinking cursor of which I curse. What are you searching for? An exit. A portal. Your purpose? Stop the...
Unplanned Canal Chaos
The real secret to a fabulous life is to live imperfectly with great delight. —Anonymous Should you ever need to understand organization and planning, talk to a parent. Parents plan. If a parent doesn’t plan, their universe becomes off kilter sending ripples of unease...
Molting
In the corner of my preschool classroom, inside a small terrarium, under a log with a warming light, lives Webby, our pet tarantula. Webby was my co-teacher’s class pet idea. “They are so low maintenance and are really cool!” she claimed. And she’s correct, but I...
Taking a Swing
Once upon a time, I wrote for the parents in the same trenches as I. The moms who smiled often but felt lost inside. The dads who planned the perfect family vacation that had gone awry. The life transitions that catapult a family into change without warning. I wrote...
Viral Vignettes
I pride myself on being a keen observer of the humorous, outlandish, and conversation starters that permeate our everyday. And because my 2023 is off to a tumultuous start, I’m sending some laughter out into the world through this series of easily digestible...
Fare You Well
There is no way to stop pain. Being human means that you will have different levels of pain throughout your life and at each stage, but your perspective will guide how you handle and live with it. A baby’s pain is an ouchie that is soothed by a kiss. A child’s pain...
Growing & Changing
During my four-year stint as a fifth-grade teacher, I was charged with teaching the course, Growing & Changing—essentially the basic science behind the birds and the bees and what the prepubescent body will be encountering. While this was one of my most awkward...
A Gal Can Dream
Dear Santa, I would love a female life assistant for Christmas. She must enjoy tackling endless mountains of laundry, scrubbing dry dog urine from random corners, repotting plants, running an inordinate number of errands, and other various jobs as needed. Other tasks...
Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood?
Neighbors are a unique lot. When you buy a home, especially in the foothills, you never quite know what you’re going to get. We have cabins next to mansions, modern architecture next to turn-of-the-century, commuters next to work-from-homers. If you’re lucky, you’ll...
Prelude to the Bliss
Maybe it’s the rhythmic hush of the waves, the scent of sea salt, an absence of devices, or the fact that I’ve lived in a landlocked state most of my life, but I’m able to transport my brain to another dimension when I get near the ocean. This dimension is devoid of...
A Led Zeppelin Kind of Day
A strange sensation in my back stirred me awake; the red digital clock read 2 am. My husband’s strong and rhythmic breathing led me to believe he was in the depths of slumber, so I stared at the crack in the ceiling above us, longing for exhaustion to take me. As my...
Life’s a Beach
What is it about family that causes us to brave airline travel Armageddon to be together? I believe part of it is to reconnect with those who helped form us. The other part is to physically observe how everyone is faring and exposing ourselves to the wide circle of...
