Silly Pickles

Ruth and I collapsed in laughing puddles on the grass beside Adam, and he laughed too. Then he began to swing his arms upward while using his happy voice to tell us how much fun this was. We played “Ring Around The Rosies” about a hundred times that afternoon. After that it was, “This Little Light of Mine,” “Jesus Love Me,” and any other song that came to mind. Each time our laughs got bigger and louder. “Silly Pickles Rule,” was what we screamed in delight all afternoon.
That day as we got to know Adam, his parents told us that Adam had something called mitochondrial disease. He used to be just like us and our friends at school, but the disease has taken away his ability to walk, talk, and even eat. He still loves to spend time with other children, but his old friends from school do not come around anymore. They also told us that Adam would continue to get worse. Ruth and I didn’t really get that, but it did not sound good.
It finally came time to go home. I looked at Adam’s parents and asked if we could play again someday. At first I was scared that I had done something wrong. His mother’s eyes filled with tears, and I wanted to run, but I wanted to hug her at the same time. I didn’t know what to do. Then she spoke. “This is the first time since Adam has not been able to talk that anyone has EVER asked him to play. We come here often. Maybe we can meet again soon.” As we went our separate ways, Ruth and I screamed, “Goodbye Silly Pickle!” Adam laughed and waved his arms recklessly in the air.
Only a week later we met Adam at the park. We found new games to play, and we did this as often as we could; as often as the weather would let us. On warm sunny days, Adam’s mom let us push him in his stroller through the park. We sang songs. We pet dogs, whose cold noses made Adam’s laugh grow huge. In the fall we gathered leaves and let them rain down on Adam. We missed Adam on rainy days.
As the weather grew cool, we were able to share phone numbers so that Adam’s mom could talk with our mothers. We were able to visit Adam at his house. We found inside games to play, and learned that Adam still laughed when he was inside! His dad had built him an inside swing that was so cool, and Adam laughed as we pushed him in it. He also laughed as he shared it with us. He liked our hand games; things that he could hold in his hand with help; and doing fun messy artwork. We never stopped singing together. And we never, NEVER stopped laughing. “Silly Pickles Together Forever,” we would laugh.