With her hands full of fun-size candy, Jackie exclaimed, "I'm a fighter. If I can, I need to do it on my own." Jackie is 87 and has lived in this house in Andersonville, a northside neighborhood of Chicago her whole life. She grew up here with her parents and siblings, got married and everyone else moved so she stayed with her husband and they raised their three children there. Her husband passed so she's on her own but keeps busy decorating for all of the holidays. It makes her really happy to see people enjoy the decorations and get a chance to stop and talk. She misses being able to go to the thrift store with her friend and look for decorations but as she waved her hand around she also admitted, she probably doesn't need any more.

There was a lull in costume clad children passing by when I stopped to talk to Jackie so we got to talk about life including how hard it is to ask for help when you are fiercely independent. She wants to stay in this house as long as she is able to manage. I hope for Jackie's sake and the neighborhood that her over the top decorations go on for years.