53. Emoji Games

Sometimes, when Feelings & Co producer Jordan Turgeon gets a text message from her friend Marie, it’s actually Marie on the other end. But sometimes, it’s her 3-year-old son communicating in his own language. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

I’m Jordan Turgeon, and it’s going to be okay.

I have a friend named Marie. She’s the kind of friend where you can go months without talking or getting together but pick right back up where you left off when you do. If you have a friend like this, you know how lucky you are. It can be easy to lose touch, even with a dear friend. And it’s really no one’s fault. Life just gets busy! 

This past winter, I went over to Marie’s house one weekday morning when she was wrangling all three of her kids while her husband traveled for work. It was a BYOC situation – bring your own coffee. But she also had a pot brewed for when we inevitably needed seconds. There was no real point to the gathering except to catch up … and obviously so she could get some adult interaction outside of her work colleagues.

At one point, her 3-year-old son – bored with all of the grownup conversation – asked if he could play on her phone. I just assumed she’d set it up with some child- or age-friendly games. You know, the kind that foster healthy brain development and stuff!

Instead, she told him he should text his dad.

“He … he texts his dad?” I asked. 

I’m not a parent, but I do know that 3-year-olds generally can’t spell, or read, or write. 

“He uses emojis,” she told me. “He thinks it’s a game.”

I looked over to see her son carefully scrolling through the emoji keyboard options and picking a few of his favorites, his stubby fingers tapping carefully at the screen. [Sound of keyboard clicks.] He then broke into giggles, because Dad was responding from the road … with his own series of emojis. [Sound of keyboard clicks.]

I told Marie right then that her son could and should absolutely add me to his personal contacts list. And later that day, when I got back home, I saw I had a text from Marie.

Except it wasn’t from Marie at all. It was from her son:

[As Jordan reads off each emoji, sounds plays in the background – car honks, motors revving, dragons roaring, etc.]

Robot. Airplane. Taxi cab. Taxi cab. Taxi cab. Blue car. Motorcycle. Blue car. Blue car. Blue car.

DRAGON! FIRE!

Semi truck. Blue car.

I responded with some of the yellow silly face emojis. Pretty basic, but I was still getting used to this new form of communication. He immediately volleyed back with not one, not two, but FOUR chocolate sprinkled donuts.

And a lollipop.

And a … rock climber? 

Plus a red racecar and three more lollipops. 

Over the next several weeks, Marie and I communicated about adult things, like photos of my ongoing basement projects. And then, one day, I signed off from a Zoom meeting to a very different kind of text message:

Red race car. Ambulance. Yellow tractor. Light rail. Light rail. Light rail. Airplane! Satellite. Satellite. Another airplane! And then, twenty subway cars, seven green canoes, five more satellites, and more than a dozen airplanes of different body styles. 

I responded with a collection of my favorite sea creatures – first some fish, then some mammals, then some crustaceans. I added a few dinosaurs, and then a set of celestial emojis. 

I was pretty impressed with my selections, honestly. 

But he just sent back … an arrow? 

Just one arrow.

What did it mean?! 

I still have no idea. But Marie’s 3-year-old son does. And that’s all that really matters. I’m just honored to be a chosen participant in his emoji games. Because every time I get a text from him, it makes me smile.

I’m Jordan Turgeon, and it’s going to be okay.

CREDITS