We'd love to have your volunteer support for Easter this year. Many of you have shared this great spring event with us in the past, or joined us for our big year-end holiday events. Either way, your warm presence and generous spirit made a world of difference to our elders' holiday experience, and we'd be grateful to have your help again.

For questions about our Easter Celebration, please e-mail our holiday team at Holidays@littlebrothersmn.org.

When I imagined being a Visiting Volunteer with LBFE, I saw a man in his 80s, living in isolation, possibly home-bound, telling me stories about his life and needing a hand around the yard. 

But I had to set all my expectations aside when Gene came into my life. Sixty-four years old, wheelchair-bound and speech-impaired due to advanced multiple sclerosis (MS), Gene lives in a nursing home. At first, I found myself wondering if he might not be better served by an agency with expertise in handling MS, but came to understand the immense value of the companionship LBFE offers.

As it turned out, Gene became an inspiration to me. He makes the best of his situation, with a determined spirit that defies his limitations; and I have yet to hear him even mention his 12-year battle with MS. 

On our first visit, I learned Gene and I share a love of coffee and outdoor activity, and so began the first of several trips to Caribou and walks around the neighborhood and Como Lake. He told me about his wife and two daughters and how he earned two master's degrees, which led to two rewarding careers. He also ran a number of marathons and biked the Pacific Coast in Oregon. 

We share an active Christian faith and similar cultural tastes, so now in the colder months we are seeing more movies and occasionally visiting churches. Gene was thrilled to attend Handel's Messiah at Orchestra Hall in December, and this past Saturday to ride the Green Line for the first time. 

But while Gene and I have much in common, we have pursued very different goals with different results. Now in my late 50s, I try not to regret choosing the independent life of a writer, with its sacrifices and disappointments, even as I admire Gene for all he worked for and accomplished long before he even knew he had MS. Although I know the time I spend with Gene is about what I can do for him, I also know how much he does for me. Ours is truly a reciprocal relationship. We always have a good time together, because, above all, Gene and I are friends.