jakorte's blog

There are four sisters belonging to one Michigan family who have traveled with Get In The Car to Louisiana.

In October 2007, I met three of these sisters. I worked on the demolition crew with 2 of the ladies. I got to know the 3rd, first over meals, and then later when I joined the dry wall crew. Back home in Michigan they had re-roofed their father’s barn and built their own church. These women are amazing, and delightful and fun, and I was thrilled to be adopted as the 4th missing sister while we were in New Orleans.

October 2008, I was lucky enough to be traveling with three of the four sisters again. One of the three who went in 2007 was unable to join us for this trip. This time I got to meet the fourth sister, the one I hadn’t met before. Also a lovely lady, she was the one I was standing in for last year.

Because there were still only 3 out of 4 sisters in attendance, I happily retained my former position as the 4th missing sister, but I was reassigned. “Last year,” they joked, “you were the cutest and the smartest – this year, you’re the oldest!”

One night we were given the option of showering, getting dressed and going out for dinner or staying in and ordering pizza. Actually, showering wasn’t an option. Not after another humid, sticky day on the job site. And some of us were already in our downtime pajama like clothing.

So, we four “sisters” had a pizza pajama party. We talked a lot about me, for some reason. They had lots of questions. Lots of the same questions I have been asking myself for quite a while. “What are you going to do about your job?” “Do you think you’ll move from Michigan?” “How much more weight do you want to lose?” “Have you thought about dating?” All good questions, all not answered very well. Mostly with an “I don’t know.”

Except for the last question. Jeff had made me promise that after he died I would get back on an internet dating sight. After all, if we met that way, surely I would be able find someone else that way again. And because, I always did everything Jeff told me to (ha!), I went ahead and signed up for one right before I left for this Louisiana jaunt. I did get to share some of the excitement of being matched with potentials. It got a little girly and I blushed a lot, but still it was fun, and made me a little less scared of trying to date.

I missed having the oldest of the sisters with us. Someday, I hope to work with and see all four sisters in re-construction action together. I realize if this happens, it will remove me as the stand-in, but perhaps I can become an honorary missionary cousin, or something.