Tonight my mother and I got ino a little tiff because I wanted to give my brother $200 in hopes that he would finally enroll in a GED course. My mother went off. She said he wasn’t going to go to the class and that he’s had all these opportunities to go to different schools and he hasn’t taken them and this would be a waste of my money. Now let’s be for real, I know the liklihood of my brother taking $200 and spending it on a GED class he has been avoiding for at least 8 months is slim. I thought that by showing him that I believed that he would do the right and take some steps to get his life back together, it would motivate and empower him. Call it my Christmas wish. He’s only 17. In my humble opinion, that’s just too young to throw your life away.
Well, you would think the argument would stop there, but my mother kept going. I don’t really understand why, but my faith in the men in my life – namely my father and brothers – really pisses her off. She always tells me you can’t change people. I know that. After spending years trying to change boyfriends, my father and now my brother I know that. But I also know that people can change themselves when they want to. I don’t see the harm in encouraging my brother to get a GED and explaining the numerous benefits of having any education in this economy. The one thing my brothers know about me is that I never give up on them. Yes, I get frustrated, a lot, but I’ve never given up on them. So this Christmas, I’m going to tell my brother that whenever he’s ready for this GED course, I will help him financially.
My mother left the room muttering, “You can’t save the world Eva.” I’m not trying to save the world, Mom. I’m trying to save my brother.
peace,
e.
