Rachel Kiser
Blogger | Mom of Two
Isabella Pieri, an 11-year-old student from Utah, lost her mother to a rare illness two years ago. Philip, her father, works hard to provide and care for his family in the aftermath of losing his wife, which requires him to rise and leave for work before the sun. This leaves Isabella to get herself ready for school alone in the mornings.
I don’t know about you, but when I was 11, I was mildly clueless on how to groom myself. On the brink of adolescence and trying to figure yourself out, it can be difficult to know what to do… especially if the one who normally would teach you, your mother, is gone.
“She’s surrounded by my son and me who can get out of the shower and comb their hair in two seconds,” said her father, Philip. “So she didn’t catch on to how important it was for young girls to take care of their hair.” He would try to help his daughter out by combing her hair, but “she would get mad at me for pulling her hair,” he shares. Eventually, because he couldn’t get the knots and tangles out, Isabella got a pixie cut. It was only a temporary fix.
As her hair began to grow, it became more apparent to one person in particular that Isabella needed some extra help. Tracy Dean, the kids’ bus driver, was the one to take notice of the mess and knots over the course of a year. She feared she would hurt the young girl’s feelings, though, if she offered a hand, so she held back. Then one day another little girl on the bus asked for Tracy’s help. That obviously instilled confidence in Isabella, and two weeks later, she did as well.
Rachel is a wife and mother living in Raleigh, North Carolina. She’s a fan of good coffee, wearer of gray t-shirts, and is constantly starting books she will never finish. Her family is her joy, and she loves to engage with other moms and dads on matters of parenting. Her blog posts have also been featured on the Today Show Parenting Blog and Scary Mommy.
View all posts by Rachel Kiser here.
4 Comments on “Bus Driver Braids 11-Year-Old’s Hair Every Morning, and the Reason is Heartbreaking”
Her hair looks beautiful!
I love this story! It reminds me of the saying that it takes a village to raise a child.
That it does!
I will have to try those sometime,looks so nice and tidy!