How I Got My Mother-in-Law Out of Prison

It took us (me and my husband) a few months, but we sure did it.  We got his mom out of prison. Yes we live in Tennessee, and my husband and his mom’s side of the family were all born and raised here, but this isn’t one of those freaky redneck stories that you hear about in the 6 o’clock news.

Kathy, my mother-in-law, actually worked for one of the high-security prisons here as a corrections officer.  For over 10 years, her job was to teach inmates how to sew and supervised the production line.  But for as long as I can remember, I don’t think she really liked it there.  She seems to always be complaining about her supervisor, stuff they have to do, etc.  And she’s not complaining because she’s one of those lazy people that just want to get out of having to work hard, in fact, she’s too much of a hard-worker that she makes a lot of people look bad.

In 2007, we decided that if we hit a million dollars in sales that year, that I’d like to offer Kathy to work with us.  Back then, we had 2 employees plus me and my husband on the payroll, and a bookkeeper.  Our problem was that those 2 employees we had constantly needed to be supervised or nothing would get done.  We felt that they were a little too close in age to us that they viewed us more as buddies than bosses.  We needed an authority figure in the office to keep employees, and future employees in line.  The business had a lot of potential and had been doubling in volume since its inception.  We now needed to add structure to our operations if we wanted to keep the momentum going.  I figured that if Kathy can supervise over 2 dozen hardened criminals day in and day out, these 2 little employees we have will probably seem like ants to her.  We would have needed to hire somebody anyway, might as well be her.  Our bookkeeper is actually her sister-in-law, so I know they’re going to get along well.

She didn’t immediately jump on our offer though.  She had to think about it for a few weeks.  I guess I can’t blame her.  She’s got job security where she’s at, benefits, etc.  It’s hard to get fired from a state job, unless you really screw things up.  Maybe she also didn’t think our company might be stable enough.  In fact, she didn’t even really take me seriously when I first mentioned I was going to use cloth diapers on our first child.  But I think she was also worried that working for us might put a strain on our relationship as a family.  We don’t have that typical mother-in-law/daughter-in-law type of friction that a lot of people have.  We actually get along very well.  But eventually, she decided to go for it and join us.

As of September of last year, my husband officially became her boss.  He jokes around that he waited 30-something years to get to boss his mom around.  Payback time!!! 

Having her work with us has took a little bit of adjustment though.  We kinda had to “detox” her from a lot of habits and old mindsets she developed working for a high security prison.  It took her a while to be comfortable with a lunch break that had no specific time–just whenever she felt like taking one.  Or that forgetting to clock in/out for work won’t result in dire consequences.  And that it’s okay to hire somebody with body piercings and green hair.

I’m a firm believer that one needs to work in a field they truly enjoy, and not only because they need a paycheck.  Doing something you don’t really like but are forced to do just because you need the money will drain the living hell out of you.  We don’t necessarily hire people with the longest resumes or the best qualifications.  We try to hire people who we think will enjoy the work and the environment we have to offer.

It has been great having her join us though.  Having her now means we don’t have to worry that things are getting done, and done properly, at the office.  Recently, we’ve also put her in charge of managing our new production facility beside our office.  But more than just having a job for Kathy, having her work with us means that she’ll be able to spend more time with her son, and the grandkids.  It means she gets to experience our family’s journey with us.