Nate Riggs: Social Business Strategies; communication, social web strategies, & passion in Columbus, Ohio.

Sometimes you write a blog for personal reasons.  I shot this video last week on a drive back from Lakeview, Ohio.  I shot it because I wasn’t sure how to process what was going on – and because I remembered something important.

P.S. Don’t make a habit of shooting video while driving.  Definitely not my best idea, in terms of safety.

Maka (Dorothy Riggs) passed away late Tuesday afternoon after a year-long battle with a bad heart valve.  She fought like hell.  My Maka always did.  But in the end, God decided to call her to come home.

I miss her.  I wish I would have made more time to spend with her in the recent years.  I wish I would have done so many things differently.  I think that after someone you love is gone, that’s probably always one of the feelings you’re left with.

About Maka

Maka loved music and people.  She spent the majority of her adult life directing the church choir at Epworth United Methodist Church in Massillon, Ohio.  She was never paid a wage for her time and she probably wouldn’t have taken it anyway.  Teaching and leading people in worship music was her gift to to the people she so loved and, I think, her way of giving a small gift back to God.  When we say goodbye to her on Saturday, the choir she so loved – along with the choir my Aunt Jane conducts – will send her off with serenades of her favorite songs.

That makes me feel good.

My brother and I come from a split home.  We went through tough times as kids.  Any of you who lived that scenario know exactly what I’m talking about.  We used to look forward to every time Maka would pick us up to “do lunch.”  We would start at McDonald’s or Wendy’s, or any local spot that seemed to make sense, then head to a movie (complete with a trip to the arcade), and spend the time in the car listening to stories and singing the songs she would teach us.  Maka had a beautiful voice and a true talent as a storyteller.

Maka was also a sender of postcards.  I always enjoyed getting the handwritten postcard about twice a month, with an update on her and Paka (the name we call my grandfather), and just a simple note to remind us how much she cared.  I think the local Cracker Barrel (where she usually bought them) must have made a fortune on her.  For Maka, those postcards were her Twitter.

Maka never really made it to the web and, in fact, I’m pretty sure that this blog post might be the only presence that Maka will ever have on the internet.  I’m taking some comfort in knowing that someday, when Kaden and Jacob are older and want to remember their great grandmother, I can reference this post and give them my own take on who she was.

I have so many stories about Maka.  There’s so much more to who she was and how special she was to my brother and I, and our entire family.  But those stories are for us, and we’ll spend the next few days together remembering and retelling them, crying, eating, crying some more, eating some more, and finding closure as we say goodbye.

Thank You for Understanding

Thank you for understanding why I needed to write this here.  I have no idea why it works this way, but writing my thoughts on this blog often helps me to reflect and process what’s going through my head.  It just does.

Thank you for understanding that for the next few days, you’re not going to hear much from me in the realm of social media.  I’ll be with Maka and my family.

Thank you for being patient.  I owe a good amount of you emails, documents, contracts and attention.  I know you understand, and will be flexible with the deadlines we’ve set.

I’m human.  Thank you for being human too.

nateriggs

I advise mid-sized & large organizations on how to adopt and use social media to market through organizational culture and better serve their clients. I'm also a blended family dad who enjoys music, photography and distance racing. When I'm not writing here, you can find me writing over at the Content Marketing Institute. Like what you've read so far? Then why not subscribe HERE?

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