Candace Echols is a Midtown resident, wife, and mother of five. A regular contributor to The Daily Memphian, she is a freelance writer who also recently published her first book, the children’s book “Josephine and the Quarantine.”
There are 121 articles by Candace Echols :
The years Kathy Huff and her husband spent cultivating an atmosphere of reading, relationships and recreation have come to fruition now that their children, including Memphis Grizzlies player Jay Huff, are grown.
“He doesn’t care about the glitz and glam of all of this stuff,” Laketia Wells said about her son. “He just lives.”
Cam Spencer’s grandfather was known for saying, “Enjoy the journey,” encouraging the people he loved not to focus so hard on the destination they miss the fun of the road that gets them there.
“Life comes at us utterly unannounced. No spoiler alerts. No accurate forecasts. No fortune tellers. It’s just us and time. And for me, God.”
“Every spring, when daffodils push up through the dirt and new leaves sprout on the trees, the earth re-tells this old story. It’s the same story, over and over and over again.”
“Thankfully, the angst gave way. The swirl quieted to a calm and left no indication that it had ever existed. If I weren’t so thankful, I’d be mad — mad that I can’t look back and identify a single silver bullet or a proven magic pill.”
“Imagining a Memphis supplied with a well-informed coffeeman, uninterrupted conversation and Sunday afternoon car rides isn’t so bad.”
“Someday what we are after in the face of LeBron will be found in the face of God.”
“I’m fully aware that we didn’t have it all right back then. But today, I lament the passing of the past by submitting this list of Top 5 Everyday Experiences from My Childhood That My Kids Know Nothing About.”
“I honestly don’t spend much time thinking about the lives of prostitutes, but during my kids’ bedtime story last week, the topic came up.”
“This Coffee Dance we’re all doing with the way we make our morning joe is the way we wake up, it’s the way we ease into the day. Each of us is quietly declaring our own preferences over and over again, every single time the Earth goes round.”
“These people have no idea I’m writing about them. But they are using what they have in time, money, energy and ideas to bless the rest of us.”
“Holding God’s transcendence and his immanence in view at the same time will not make me perfect, but it will change how I handle my own wrongdoing, as well as how I love God and others...”
“My underlying hope is that when I do A and B, the promised C will result. But you only have to live a little while to learn that’s not the way life works.”
“Whether its nature or people that speak to us most clearly when we travel, taking in a new place with fresh gusto and does our hearts’ good. “
“It would be rewarding to receive badges for things like getting a kid to sleep through the night or helping a child master multiplication facts.”
“For those who love dogs, children or miracles, this story won’t seem far-fetched at all. As a matter of fact, it may strike some as downright splendid.”
“Whether too much or not enough or just the right amount, time is the thread running through every last tidbit of our human existence. ... And time is what this season of Advent is all about.”
“It seems ridiculous to feel sad over a chain restaurant leaving town. But for me, it’s as much about the memories as it is the chicken tenders. Because when it comes to meals regularly eaten in community, it’s hard to tell where food ends and friendship begins.”
“Women of childbearing age are becoming more and more likely to kick parenthood to the curb. And who can blame them? There’s a government-issued health warning about it.”
A Memphis parent realizes how St. Jude “is a sacred space,” now that she, too, has a sick child and is at the marathon thanking people for running.
“Whether you are handed a roster of registrants or whether you run the tryouts and hand-select the team yourself, find a way to work in every player, every game.”
“Anger wrestled my grief to the mat. ... The news of uncle’s death had cracked open my heart, but a great many griefs came pouring out.”
Candace Echols says The Retreat House is “A place that feels like a massage, a nap, a good book, a cup of coffee and afternoon recess on a countryside playground — all together at the same time.”
Two Memphis schools are now several months into their decisions to go completely phone-free during classroom hours. Last week, Candace Echols checked in with both campuses to see how things are going.