A tribute to Maw Mitchell, her name was Birdie Lou Annelene Mitchell 
and she lived for the Lord her whole life after she had 7 children her 
husband died leaving her to raise them. We lived next door to her and 
when my parents were fighting she was our safe haven from the storm. 
My one regret is that she never say me in church. When me and steve 
first got married she had become ill and they were going to stick her in 
a nursing home which she didnt want and steve came home one day 
and said get your coat were moving in with your granny. We did and 
we found out her blood pressure meds was messing her up and she 
got better we had to fun packed years as we took her to the lake and 
shopping and just let her live life. my family had let her sit in the house 
till she was about crazy. when we first started staying she was so 
scared because she was seeing things and people so at night we 
pushed her hospital bed and her queen size bed together and i 
would lay between her and steve and hold her hand all night so 
she could sleep knowing i was watching to make sure noone hurt 
her. then steve would wake up and fix her breakfast while i slept. 
after she got better we moved to the bedroom next door to hers 
and one night we heard what sounded like a gun shot and she 
started to scream that someone had shot her we ran in and noone 
had shot her when she went to get out of bed she pressed down 
with her arm and it broke that was the sound we heard we took her 
to the er and found out her arm had broke clear into. They admitted 
her to the hospital and we found out she had bone cancer and there 
was just nothing that the could do. She stayed in the hospital for 
weeks i would stay round the clock then go home for 2 hours sleep 
then come back. 3 weeks before christmas 95 i got sick and they 
wouldnt let me see her one week before christmas i was well enough 
to go back so on christmas eve she waswas breathing funny but they 
told me it was ok and they would tell me if i need to call my dad. 
Christmas morning I woke up and went to the bed I told my husband 
that i always told maw that i couldnt make it without her and i felt she 
was holding on for that reason. So while noone was there about 3 am 
i leaned over the bed and told her it was ok I would be alright and she 
could go when she wanted. So around 7am i was waiting for my aunt 
to come so I could go open presents at moms so i said memaw would 
you like for me to sing you some christmas songs. she shook her head 
yes because she couldnt move her arms or talk and i sang her ever 
song i could think of. I heard my aunt outside talking to the nurse so 
i leaned over and kissed her and told her i would be back in an hour 
i said maw you know i love you more than anything and she reached 
over and grabbed my arm in a death grip and shook her head yes 
and i said i know you love me to and she again shook her head yes. 
I said well i got to go ill be right back and she let go i was shocked 
because she had not moved in so long so i left and drove 5 miles to 
my moms and went in and sat down and seen my dad fly by and pull 
in I ran to the steps and he was running up the drive and i kept screaming 
she died didnt she and when he hit the 1st step he said yes. I screamed 
and the next thing i knew i woke up on my moms bed throwing up. 
They told me that I had probly not got downstairs on the elevator 
when she died. I think she was waiting for me to leave. It took me 
years to celebrate christmas and listen to christmas music and 
not cry. I remember the smell of her apron that she always wore 
which i still own and her hands, we used to look at our hands 
together and she would say when you grow up your hands will 
look just like mine and you know what I never knew my granny 
to be wrong as I look at my hands with tears in my eyes i still see 
her hands in mine and mine do look like hers.