Sometimes, there are no words.

Sometimes, a friend or a family member is going through something horrific. Words are inadequate. We even say this, “I’m so sorry. There are no words.” It is the worst feeling when there is nothing you can say or do to help a loved one.

Sometimes, the only thing we can do is to let the person know we are available to help, should anything arise. In the meantime, we pray and hope and hold that person close to our heart.

But this feels inadequate, too. So we send cards, or flowers, or fruit baskets, or we bake meals. We send those I-don’t-want-to-bother-you-with-a-phone-call-but-please-know-I’m-thinking-of-you text messages.

Well, a few years ago, I discovered a treasure. I was looking for a silly Yankee Swap gift for a Christmas party and boy-oh-boy did I find it!

It was random.

It was funny.

It was right in my price range.

And, thanks to Amazon, in two days it was at my door. 

To say it was a hit at our Yankee Swap would be a gigantic understatement. It stole the show… and, fortunately for us, one of our kiddos won it in the swap and we welcomed it home.

Folks, I’d like to introduce you to the Yodeling Pickle:

First, let me state for the record that I loathe toys with batteries, especially those that make noise. My friends and family can attest to this fact. Few such toys make it through our doors. Those that do rarely have their batteries replaced once they run dry. And, more often, the batteries mysteriously disappear, if you catch my drift (Shhh!!).

My house is noisy enough. The last thing I want to do is to add to the din.

But, this pickle is so freaking funny!

 

I kid you not: I laugh every single time I hear it yodel. It never gets old. (Well, actually, it does. And, if we’re being honest, the Yodeling Pickle gets even funnier as it nears its last yodel.) 

Eventually, after much fun, the Yodeling Pickle runs out of batteries. I know this because I have had to special order them (thanks again, Amazon!).

That’s right: I love the Yodeling Pickle enough to replace its batteries. That puts it in some sort of Curley Family Toy Hall of Fame or something.

And there’s more…

This pickle has magical healing properties.

The Magical Healing Properties of the Yodeling Pickle

Here’s the thing: Laughter is a form of medicine. A good laugh can be therapeutic, especially during hard times. And that’s why I give the Yodeling Pickle to friends and family members who are struggling.

Sound crazy? Maybe, but it works.

When there are no words, I send this pickle.

The loss of a loved one

Injury and illness

Moving

Separation and divorce

Financial woes

… and more

This pickle spreads joy and happiness. I know this because I have friends and family members who still reminisce about its arrival at their doorsteps, years after the fact. They talk about how it made them laugh so hard they cried, how they laughed until their stomachs ached, how their children giggled for the first time in a long time upon its arrival.

This pickle is a bucket-filler.

I’ve been giving this pickle away for so many years that Amazon believes I have a pickle obsession. You should see my Amazon recommendations!

Speaking of Amazon, I highly recommend reading the Yodeling Pickle reviews if you are in need of a good laugh at the moment. Go ahead, you won’t regret it:

Yodeling Pickle

This is The Yodeling Pickle. It looks pretty innocuous here, but I guarantee that it will bring friends to tears and spread raucous laughter wherever it goes!

And oh my gosh while researching for this post I discovered that there is a Yodeling Pickle Christmas ornament!! Christmas just got merrier, folks!!

 

For years, I’ve been saying I need to write about this pickle.

I have purchased dozens of these pickles. Dozens! This pickle has induced laughter every single time. I wrote a little bit about the pickle in this post and this post, but it wasn’t enough.

Those posts weren’t fair to the pickle.

Quite frankly, the pickle deserves more.

And so here it is, folks. Today I am sharing the magical healing properties of the Yodeling Pickle.

Would you like to hear it for yourself? Try it before you buy it and all that jazz? Here is a demo, courtesy of my pickle lovin’ kids.

Yodeling Pickle vs. Screaming Pickle

In researching this most important post, it came to my attention that the Yodeling Pickle has a dark cousin on the market: The Screaming Pickle. Now, I’ll be honest here: the title scared me. The last thing I need in my house is another thing that screams. And yet, I have much respect for the pickle-makers and had to test it out.

I bought the Screaming Pickle… for my husband.*

*I bought tickets to Zac Brown Band at Fenway Park for my husband for our anniversary and I was SO excited to give them to him. Not twenty-four hours later (and yet a month before our anniversary), my husband announced that he’d rather see Zac “elsewhere”… the stinker! I had already bought the tickets, so I threw in a Screaming Pickle as a consolation prize to make him laugh. It worked!

I thought it would be important to share a Yodeling Pickle vs. Screaming Pickle video in this post because knowledge is power! (Please excuse my eldest’s itching- the lilacs are in bloom!)

My children love the Screaming Pickle, although it doesn’t elicit the same level of laughter as the Yodeling Pickle. Unless, of course, my youngest is lip-syncing to the Screaming Pickle:

Now that is funny… but not funny enough to allow my children free reign of the Screaming Pickle. I think it is best that I keep this particular pickle up high, near my No Whining Button, in case of emergencies. I cannot listen to screaming all day.

Yodeling, on the other hand, is more challenging to lip sync to and yet much more enjoyable on the whole.

LeVar Burton said it best…

… when he said, “You don’t have to take my word for it!” Here are a couple reviews from dear friends and Yodeling Pickle recipients:

It was the funniest when the battery started to die. Slow-motion yodeling. You got to hear it.

~ Kate

It’s a Yodeling Pickle. Really, what more is there to say? It’s fantastic.

~ J.S.

I love it. It’s pretty much a perfect pickle.

~ Kara*

It will get you out of all the jams.

~ Kara’s daughter*

*IMPORTANT NEWS!! Did you hear that Kara and I are working on a PODCAST? You can read more about it here. We are interested in what YOU want to hear, so please send us topics and questions!

Looking for other smile-makers?

Nothing can hold a candle to the Yodeling Pickle when it comes to laughter, but if you are looking for other smile and laughter inducers, please check out this post:

 

Now, it’s your turn. Tell me: What do you do when there are no words? Share here!