Tennessee Waitress Praised After Being Pictured Working With Child Strapped to Her Back

A Tennessee waitress was praised for working with her child strapped to her back. (Kelly Gentry via Storyful)

A waitress in Tennessee was praised by many after being pictured working while carrying her child on her back.

The picture was snapped by Kelly Gentry inside Greenback Diner in Greenback, a town of about 1,000 people southwest of Knoxville.

Gentry posted the picture on her Facebook page, praising the mother.

“She’s dedicated she has busted her butt with her child strapped to her! Need more people willing to have this work ethic! Shout out to this awesome mom doing what it takes to make ends meet and shout out to her work for allowing her to bring him!” she wrote.

“I thought it was just a customer walking around with her baby on her and she started waiting my table and I was like ‘Oh my gosh,’” Gentry told WBIR.

The waitress was identified as Kori Dotson.

She told the broadcaster that she was very busy that day and didn’t notice Dotson taking the picture. The boy on her back is her 2-year-old, son Rhody.

“He loves to just ride and talk to people and he’s just a social butterfly so he loves every minute of it,” she said.

At times, the boy is let down to help wipe tables and toss used spoons in the sink.

On a normal day, he’s not there; she’s only brought him to work a few times, but it’s part of teaching him to be a hard worker.

“Whether it’s feeding cows with Pappy or handing out menus, I want to teach him to be a hard worker and have fun at it,” Dotson said.

On Facebook, Teresa Hackworth said that Dotson is her sister-in-law, calling her “beautiful and a great mother!” People praised the diner for allowing Dotson to bring her child to work.

Greenback Diner

The diner was started in 1923, passing through a number of owners but always remaining in business. It used to include a pharmacy but doesn’t anymore.

It has its share of regulars, who love the home-cooked meals, workers told The Daily Times last year. “We have people who don’t miss a day,” said new owner Tammy Tallent, naming one.  “He comes in every day around 10:30 a.m. He has the same thing every day, a regular hamburger.”

She said she bought the diner because she wanted to continue the tradition of giving locals good food.

“People have to eat. People love to eat,” Tallent said. “I just want to serve the young and old alike. It’s all the same in Greenback.”

Gentry said on Facebook that the restaurant has “some of the best homemade cooking” and it’s one of her favorite places to get lunch.

From NTD News