It’s not easy imaging, much less living, life without a mom. Truth is, mothers are the foundation of a family. They have been since as far back in history. Mothers have always been part of our lives, our society and our history. The image of a pregnant mother, or a mother with a child, is the age-old symbol of family.
So when you lose your mother, it’s difficult to know what to do or to keep going. But this was the reality Isabella Pieri had to face at only 9 years old. Like most of us, Isabella loved her mom and would’ve absolutely done anything for her. One thing she loved to do was help Isabella fix and braid her hair.
A young girl’s self-esteem and confidence are all dependent on their appearance, as everyone eventually comes to know.
Being a mom, Patricia Pieri did everything for her children. She’d wash their clothes, make their breakfast, help them with their homework and remind them how much she loved them.
Patricia probably wanted to watch them grow up too, making it so much more heartbreaking when she passed away when Isabella was only 9.
A rare brain illness, one she’d dealt with since Isabella was 3, took Patricia’s life. The absolute worst thing had happened to her family, and Isabella was far too young to know how to deal with it.
Her hair got longer, but no one was there to braid it. Her dad, Philip, did the best he could to no avail. He would try, but it would never come out right and ended up pulling on Isabella’s hair a bit too hard. This made her equally angry and sad.
Eventually, 47-year old Philip just gave up trying and simply cut her hair into a short crew cut. A far cry from the long, pretty locks that she used to have. Things really weren’t the same without mom.
To Philip’s credit, he had to look after their children on his own now. I’m sure he could be forgiven for messing up a few braids.
Though one day, something mysteriously fixed both their problems for them. Isabella returned from school one fateful day with her hair braided. Her dad didn’t know what to say or feel.
But maybe he was relieved that someone could do a better job than him with Isabella’s hair. Wouldn’t want to to keep accidentally tugging her hair and needing to cut it off each time.
Still, who was this mystery hair-braider?
As it turned out, it was her bus driver, Tracy Dean. The 47-year old bus driver watched Isabella trying to fix her own hair in the 2 years since her mom passed away. The watching eventually turned into help, and she eagerly and lovingly began fixing Isabella’s hair for her.
But why would a bus driver decide to do this for one of dozens of kids on the bus? It’s here that a little bit of context is warranted. Tracy has kids of her own, some about the same age as Isabella. Moreover, Tracy herself was diagnosed with cancer just 4 years prior.
Thanks to circumstances like this, Tracy got to thinking how her own kids’s lives would be impacted if they lost her. Isabella was a glimpse into that picture.
Overwhelmed with empathy, Tracy would let Isabella stay behind a few minutes on the bus after all the other kids got off. She’d fix and braid Isabella’s hair for her before letting her off. It’s a small thing, it takes less than a few minutes, but it meant the world to Isabella.
“I didn’t just survive for my husband and my children. I survived for these kids on the bus who need somebody to talk to or do their hair.”
Tracy even held back tears in her attempt to describe her feelings about her own kids and Isabella. It’s almost bittersweet. There’s no telling how different Isabella’s school life would be without the comfort and confidence of having her hair fixed, or how Tracy’s kids’ lives would have changed had they lost her to cancer.
It can take a while for the light at the end of the tunnel to show up. Sometimes the tunnel is really long and bumpy, and the light might be a small one that can’t shine through the whole tunnel.
Maybe you could use more than one light. But it’s better than no light, and it’s certainly better than not being able to see in that tunnel. When lights are in short supply, you’ll appreciate each one a lot more.
It starts with Tracy fixing Isabella’s hair, but one can see that she’s helping fix something much bigger for Isabella. Nonetheless, reading someone talk about it is great. But watching it for yourself is too. Play the full clip down below.
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