Each October I look forward to celebrating the birthday of my first-born son, William Arthur Morris, who turned 46 on October 26. So, I thought it might be a very good time to share some of my memories of Art, and forgive me if this turns a little mushy – which Art would definitely not approve of! In fact, he would probably hit the delete button if he knew I was even considering HIM as the subject of this blog entry!

We lived in Dallas, Texas in 1962 and Art was born at Methodist Hospital, which still has a large presence in the Oak Cliff section. We lived not too far from the hospital. Art was born shortly before 6 a.m., and by the doctor’s calculations, he was almost two weeks overdue! This might account for the hefty birth weight of 9 lbs., 11-1/2 ounces. He was a beautiful baby and was perfect in every way! Of course, I’m certain all new parents feel this way about their first baby! This feeling was still with me when Andy, our other son, was born in 1965. (We’ll do another entry around his birthday next May.)

We were blessed to have my mother, aka Granny Gray, living next door to us and she was so much help and knew just what to do when I wasn’t quite sure about some of the “new baby” problems!  She passed away in 1973. Bill’s parents lived way down in Kentwood, Louisiana! We relied on the telephone to share all the news of the day and to “reach out and touch”; and we talked frequently to them - at least once each week - and to Mother Morris and Daddy Polk, Bill’s grandparents who lived there, too. Just in case we would forget something that was said, we often recorded our conversations and replayed them over and over! That was a long time before cell phones, e-mails, text messaging or any of the current ways of communicating. Sometimes I miss those times because I think we maybe take these things for granted and they don’t mean as much now. 

In November 1963 when Art was a year old, I had just returned from hanging his diapers on the clothesline when word came on our black and white television that President John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, not too far from where we lived. Yes, that was before PAMPERS or LUVS. When he was an infant, though, I was the recipient of a very thoughtful gift: a few months of real cloth diapers delivered several times each week from Tidy Diapers Diaper Service!  Hassie Spears, a friend at our church, worked there and gave us the marvelous gift for our new baby.  Remember real diapers?  A couple of times each week the truck would deliver freshly laundered diapers and pick up the soiled ones.  It was wonderful!

Speaking of diapers, when Art was just a few months old, one night we were traveling from Louisiana back to Dallas and Bill asked me to drive for a while. Art was snug as a bug in his "car bed" which was a canvas-type contraption that hooked over the passenger side seat, with baby facing the backseat, of course.  I could easily turn around and change diapers, or do whatever was needed. The safety police would not have approved of this bed for sure! Anyway, shortly after switching drivers, sure enough, it was obvious that Art need a diaper change, big time! I'm sure Bill thought I had a premonition of the impending doom!  Bill did the change, though, and as he completed it, we were crossing the long bridge over the Sabine River in Texas. Not knowing exactly what he should do, he quickly lowered the passenger side window, and out the window flew the real, cloth diaper, including its contents! Men!!! There is a limit, I suppose.  Maybe that's when the term "Deal with it" was instituted.

Art has always brought us so much joy and he has been the ideal son, grandson, and a big brother to Andy. Parenting has been so much fun for us and, thankfully, we were spared the troublesome teen years that many parents go through. We do not attribute this to anything we did, but to the Lord and His guidance.

Art always excelled in school and was a respected leader and model in our youth group at our church. He was valedictorian of his high school, Spring Creek High School, just outside the town of Kentwood. Art married Merritt Lynn Johnson, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, in August 1984, and together they graduated John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas in 1985. They have two wonderful children, Anna, who is a junior at Anderson University in Anderson, SC., and Max, who is a sophomore at Andrew Jackson High School near Lancaster. Art has been a primary care doctor at Barnett Family Practice in Lancaster, SC since 1992 and their family is very active in Covenant Baptist Church here in Lancaster.

One of the more recent occasions I had to experience Art's love for me was his very close attention to me during my unexpected surgery.  Just having him nearby gave me so much comfort and assurance.  The fact that he knew the doctors and his way around the hospital surely didn't hurt, either.

There are too many memories to share on this blog, but trust me, it has been a fun ride being Art’s mom! We could not be more thankful and appreciative of both our sons. God has truly blessed us in so many ways and we are grateful. There is a scripture which sums up our feelings about our children:

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 1:4

Now, this didn't get too mushy, did it?





Here he is! William Arthur Morris, born October 26, 1962


The following photo is about 3 years old but it is such a good one of Art's family I wanted to share it with you.