Andrews - A Grandmothers Legacy: 365 Notes To Live By

Copyright 2015 Buffy Andrews ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Cover Art by Joan Alley Editing by Jacqueline Hopper This book is a workof fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, orplaces, events or locales is purely coincidental. The charactersare the product of the authors imagination and usedfictitiously. Smashwords Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Ifyoure reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was notpurchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.comand purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard workof this author. Published by Prism Book Group First Edition, 2015 Published in the United States ofAmerica Contact info: http://www.prismbookgroup.com

This book contains 365 notes also includedin the fiction book Ellas Rain by Buffy Andrews. These arenotes written by Grandma D to her granddaughter Ella, to be sharedin the year after her passing. We are publishing these notes separately, aswe hope Grandma Ds legacy will inspire many. Dont forget to check out EllasRain, releasing in February 2015. Im often asked how much of what I writecomes from personal experience. Im often asked how much of what I writecomes from personal experience.

I dont think you can be an authorand not have who you are be a part of what you create. Ellas Rain includes 365 lettersGrandma D wrote to Ella before she died. Grandma instructs her bestfriend, Maddie, who becomes Ellas guardian upon her death, to giveElla a new note every day. When I started writing Grandma Ds notes inEllas Rain, I thought about my sons and what Id wantthem to know if I wasnt able to grow old with them. I also thoughtabout my sister, Wendy, and her husband, Brad, and all of myfriends who have passed away and the children they left behind.What would they want their children to know? How would they wanttheir children to live? What I discovered while writing the notes isthat many of them were born out of actual conversations Ive hadwith my sons over the years. When I completed them, I felt not onlygood about the guidance Grandma D had provided Ella, but also asense of pride in the legacy Im leaving behind.

I hope Grandma Ds notes inspire you to be abetter person and to live life thoughtfully and with purpose andpassion. I hope you share this book with those you love and thatthey in turn share it with others. Together we can bring GrandmasD message to the world. Find good in bad, success in failure, joy insorrow, life in death. And remember, the light is most clearly seenin the darkness. I wish you a life of love and laughter.

Grace and peace to you always, Buffy

Note# 1 My dearest Ella, I wish we wouldve had more time together,but we both know we dont always get what we want. I know youre ingood hands with Maddie. She loves you as if you were her own.Always has. I wanted to leave you with some of mythoughts, things for you to think about as you journey throughlife. I plan to write three hundred and sixty five notes so youllhave a new one to read every day for a whole year following mydeath. I pray Ill be able to finish them before its time for meto say goodbye.

I hope they comfort and guide you, and provide thewisdom I will not be there to share. Ella, I love you so very much. My life hasbeen a thousand times richer because you were a part of it, and Iwouldnt have wanted to change a single thing. Stay healthy, behappy, and live life like theres no tomorrow. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 2 My dearest Ella, Always do the right thing. It might not bewhats easiest.

I remember the time you took a bookmark fromMaddies house without asking. You were about seven, I believe. Ifound the bookmark and recognized it because Id given it toMaddie. When I asked you about the bookmark, you confessed. Youbegged me to return it to Maddie because you didnt want to faceher. I refused.

Instead, I drove you to Maddies, and you returnedit, and apologized. It wasnt easy and you cried a lot, but you didit. Well, Lord knows youre not seven anymore,but I pray youll never forget the bookmark and the lesson youlearned that day. Always do the right thing, Ella. Even when itsdifficult. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 3 My dearest Ella, Theres no shame in failing as long as youlearn from it.

Remember when you received an F on yourbiology exam because you didnt study? You thought you knew thematerial well enough and decided to go shopping with your friendsinstead of studying. It was the first and only F you ever received.I can still picture you crying as you pulled the test out of yourpink backpack. We all fail, Ella. Lord knows Ive failedmany times in my life. But a failure is only a failure if you dontlearn from it. When you fail, as I know you will, I wantyou to pick yourself up and try again.

And again and again. Dontlet failing or the fear of failure keep you from pursuing yourdreams. Where would we be if the great inventors stopped tryingafter theyd first failed? Failures make us stronger and wiser.Theyre the building blocks of success. So embrace them and learnfrom them. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 4 My dearest Ella, Help others if youre able. How rude. How rude.

I hope, as you live your life, you helpothers if youre able. Youll be surprised by the little things youcan do to brighten someone elses day. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 5 My dearest Ella, Dont be afraid to love. Ive been worried about this. I dont wantyou to be afraid to love someone because you fear youll lose them.Lord knows youve lost a lot of loved ones in your life. But,please, Ella, after Im gone, dont give up on love.

Dont let thefear of losing someone keep you from loving them. Love is thegreatest gift of all, and if youre lucky enough to find it, holdonto it with everything youve got. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 6 My dearest Ella, Always count your blessings. Ive told you this so many times Im sureyou grew sick of me saying it. But its true, Ella. Always countthe blessings in your life.

Never take them for granted. Peoplespend so much time thinking about what they dont have that theymiss enjoying what they do have. Be thankful for the life you weregiven and cherish each day as if it was your last. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 7 My dearest Ella, In order to grow beautiful flowers, you needboth sun and rain. You asked me one time when you were littlewhy it had to rain, why it couldnt be sunny all of the time. Doyou remember what I told you? I told you that both rain and sun areneeded to grow beautiful flowers.

Too much of either one isntgood. Were like flowers, Ella. And sometimes its sunny andsometimes it rainy. But its the rain and the sun, the good and thebad, that help us grow into the people were meant to become. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 8 My dearest Ella, Stop and listen to the music. Sometimes itsvery faint.

After your parents and sister died, Ithought all of the music in my life was gone. But then I saw youcradling your baby doll and feeding her a bottle and I realized themusic wasnt gone, it was just very faint. So faint that if Ihadnt been listening quietly, I wouldve missed it completely. Sooften the music is there, Ella, but it gets drowned out by theweariness of life. When life gets tough, as it surely will, listenfor the music. Love you bunches andbunches, Grandma * ** Note# 9 My dearest Ella, Believe in yourself.