My 77-year-old mother and I have a system: She texts me an emoji every morning when she wakes to let me know she's alive, and I text one back as a receipt. (She is afraid she’ll die in her sleep and her two cats will eat her remains.) She chooses a different emoji every day; a turtle, a butterfly, a sleepy face. I reply with an emoji in a similar vein; a snail, a bird, big bugged-out eyes. A simple visual exchange or rich and complex conversation? I see you, I hear you, I'm glad you're here, I love you.
Amy Goldmacher (she/her) is an anthropologist, a writer, and a book coach, which means her career has centered around transforming information for good. Find Amy at amygoldmacher.com and on Twitter and Instagram @solidgoldmacher.