Kelly Gentry(GREENBACK, Tenn.) — It’s a situation every working mom faces at one time or another: you need to get to work, but you have no one to watch your child. What can you do?
If you’re Kori Dotson, the answer is simple. You strap your toddler to your back and you go work your shift.
Kelly Gentry happened to be dining at the Greenback Drugstore and Diner in Greenback, Tennessee, last month when she spotted Dotson. She snapped a photo of the waitress and shared it on Facebook.
“I came in and she was waiting my table and I was in shock. But it was amazing. She was working with her 2-year-old son on her back because she had no sitter that morning,” Gentry told Good Morning America.
Eventually, the woman in the photo was identified as Kori Dotson. She told GMA that she works primarily as a respiratory therapist and also picks up shifts at the diner.
“It was Election Day and a strong storm had come through the night before and wiped out power til about 10 a.m. that day,” Dotson said. “Tammy [the owner of the Greenback Drugstore and Diner] had called me and asked me to come in because we had gotten a huge rush once power had been restored.”
“I told her I could be there in about 15 minutes but my babysitter wasn’t home and I would have to bring my son, Rhody. He had come once before and she knew that he would behave himself. So I got him up from his nap and off we went,” Dotson continued. “He was still groggy when we got to the Greenback Diner, so I did what I have done his whole life, I threw him on my back and did what I needed to. I just stepped in where they needed me refilling drinks, taking orders, and washing dishes. Just a normal day at the diner for me.”
Gentry said she was not only impressed by Dotson’s work ethic, but also how she was instilling it into her son.
“She let him help roll silverware and everything. She was one of the best waitresses I’ve ever had even with a baby strapped to her,” said Gentry. “Kudos to her for doing what it takes to make ends meet.”
Dotson said that when she brings Rhody into the diner, he pretends to take orders and “scribbles diligently on his note pad.”
“He’ll go get the broom and sweep the floors and hand out menus to customers who just sat down,” said Dotson. “The diner has become one of his favorite places and I enjoy watching him find joy in working.”
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