A mother-daughter bond is special but this little girl lost it two years ago… until this female bus driver gave her back a little bit of it by braiding her hair every morning.
One of the most devastating things that can happen to a young child is undoubtedly losing mom. That is when you’ll never be able to feel safe in her embrace again, leaves you with a void that can never be filled. But one little girl found familiarity of a mother’s touch from the strange woman.
Isabella Pieri, 11, lost her mom when she was 9 to a rare illness but in a feat of pure strength, the little picked herself up and began her journey of independence.
However, she wasn’t unable to braid her hair by herself. Her father, Phillip, 47, was working intense hours at a convenience store in American Fork, Utah. This man found it hard to do something with her hair but still tried to do it. “She’d get mad at me for pulling her hair,” . “I didn’t know how to do it.”, Phillip said.
In order to make it easier for both of them, the dadd got her a crew cut for the time being. In a television interview, he said: “I originally just gave her a crew cut because I didn’t know how, and it was all tangled and I couldn’t get it out for anything,”
Soon after, when Isabella Pieri’s hair grew back, she started to tie her hair in a ponytail. And then… something changed. Isabella Pieri’s father said: “One day [Isabella] came home and it looked beautiful,”. Well, that one day, it was the kindness of Tracy Dean, 47 a bus driver for the Alpine School District, that made Isabella truly shine.
One morning, when the kids were stepping off the bus, Isabella saw the bus driver braiding her classmate’s hair. The girl gathered her courage and asked the bus driver if she could tie her hair too. The girl’s request was the start of something new for both of them.
From then on, every morning, Tracy took the time to braid Isabella’s hair. The female bus driver told: “I can tell she was struggling with her hair. We usually do two French braids first and once in a while she just wants one braid,”
“I also taught her how to brush her hair. She’d get on the bus and she’d say, ‘I brushed my hair. Does it look good?'” Dean said. “I’ll say, ‘You did awesome.'”
As for Tracy’s motivation for doing this, she said, “Seven years ago, I found out I had breast can*cer, and that’s one of the things that went through my head — who is going to take care of my little ones? Not that my husband couldn’t do it, but you know, that’s what mom’s do. They do their kids’ hair.”
Isabella had her own motivations. Isabella said: “It makes me feel like she’s a mom pretty much to me. And it makes me excited for the next day to see what she does.”.
Tracy’s act of kindness has definitely not gone unnoticed by Phillip – “Tracy didn’t have to step up, but she stepped up to help out, I was amazed.”
And by her teachers – “I just noticed her head was a little higher that morning,” her teacher, Mrs. Freeze said, “and she had a little more of a step.”
Looks like Isabella isn’t suffering from a lack of love and Tracy’s act of kindness is an inspiration.
Mothers can never be replaced but Tracy’s dedication to ensuring little Isabella showed that the love of a mother has no limits.
Source: KSL TV, ABC News, Lessonlearnedinlife
