Moms are the heart of many families, the glue that holds everything together. They organize, shop for, and prepare meals, do laundry, dishes, clean the house, transport the children to their activities, and ensure that everything works well.

And there are other things that mothers seem to have a talent for, such as getting persistent stains out of garments, locating a misplaced sock, putting hair up in a ballet bun, or braiding intricately. Patricia Pieri, a Utah mother, adored her daughter Isabella and especially enjoyed grooming her daughter’s hair.

Patricia one day passed away from a rare brain illness she’d been battling since Isabella was three, leaving Isabella, nine, without a mother and a wounded heart. Her father, Philip, 47, did his best to help his little girl with her hair afterward, but it wasn’t the same.

‘She’d be angry if I pulled her hair.’ I had no idea how to accomplish it. [Isabella] came home one day and it was really lovely. I call her my princess, and she dresses the role, acts the part, and has a lot more confidence than I expected.’
So who was correcting Isabella’s hair all of a sudden?

Tracy Dean, her 47-year-old bus driver, was the culprit.  Tracy had watched Isabella try to arrange her own hair for the past two years, since her mother had died.

Philip didn’t know what else to do, so she spotted her on the bus with a way shorter haircut. It’s not simple for young girls to comb and fix their own hair, but Isabella was doing her best.

Tracy has four children of her own, one of whom is Isabella’s age. She was well aware that at this age, girls’ self-esteem is influenced by their attractiveness.After the other kids got off the bus, Tracy began holding Isabella back so she could rapidly brush and style Isabella’s hair.

‘I could tell she was having a hard time with her hair.’ We normally start with two French braids, but every now and again she only wants one braid. She also learned how to brush her hair from me. ‘I brushed my hair,’ she’d add as she boarded the bus. Is it appealing? ‘You did fantastic,” I’ll say.

Isabella’s father was overwhelmed by the kindness extended to his daughter.

She, too, has battled cancer and wondered aloud, ‘What if it was my child?’
‘It’s just how my mother raised me, to be friendly to everyone—people who could use a little love.’ I prefer to give every children a chance, even the bad ones.’

Watch the video below to see how grateful Isabella is for Tracy’s kindness and hair-styling talents, as well as how sweet their friendship is.