Author: Jill

I’ve read a lot of people this year who say “it all comes down to love.” I assume the “it” means the value of our human presence in the world. I have a love/hate relationship with this saying, as well as with the idea that only unconditional love has real value. I’m afraid that the progressive sort of non-judgmental, value-free love makes me twinge a bit. If unconditional love is that abstract notion of indescribable affection, I believe I do know it when it comes to my children. They could not do anything that would make me stop loving them....

The other night I got in the middle of what sounded-like-it-was-going-downhill discussion between my 20-year-old son and 14 -year-old son. My 20-year-old, middle child stopped me, “Chill Mom, we got this.” I said ok and backed off, reminded that I can be an over protective busybody. Same thing happened when I was at a cookout recently and watched a new Mom follow her 13-month old daughter around in circles in the backyard. Oh, I remember those days. I chuckled to myself as I watched Dad sit still the whole time and wondered if there would be an early-childrearing-fight later that...

I can’t believe it’s been 17 (!) years since M. Night Shyamalan came out with “Unbreakable.” I think I’m a fan of superhero movies because of the questions they spur. Does the human world require evil to reveal good? Is it possible for we humans to win against our darker sides? What exactly does reintegrating the dark side look like?  Are we here to help those less fortunate? Why are some less fortunate than others? Is there a path we were each created to take to fulfill our internal longings? In, Unbreakable, we find in flashbacks that the lead character,...