Concerned a Little Late

I was talking to my mother. She took me out for my birthday and she is worried about my oldest brother. He won’t stop drinking or smoking and everyone is very concerned. He has stated that it’s too late to do anything about it. I told her he was likely right. What I was thinking was, “Seriously? Now you’re concerned? Is this a joke?”

You have to understand: I sounded the warning bells four decades ago. You know, back when something constructive could actually have been done about the situation. My brother is now in his early 60s. I doubt he will make it to seventy. My mom is pushing eighty. And now she is worried sick about him. This is the same person that put me in the ER and then was going to leave me there. Wow.

I. Give. Up.