Like - Being Fond Of Someone

My personal favorite quirk of my grandma was when she decided to stop telling her grandchildren she loved us for a while. Instead, she told us that she was fond of us. I believe she did that over an “I love you” following a request for a piece of toast—at least that’s the story I know. At the time it felt simultaneously like a weird dig at us as entitled grandkids and a shot the cultural cheapening of “love.” And it was those things, but it wasn’t just those things. Occasionally, she’d say, “I’m fond of you” with a strong emphasis and rising pitch on the word “fond.” Being fond of someone isn’t the same thing as loving them. To be fond of someone is to feel a slightly different kind of affection toward them. There’s a sense of sentimentality that goes hand in hand with fondness. It has softer and gentler contours, which were two traits my grandma wasn’t exactly known for. But they were there and I don’t say that just because she passed away and is now ready for her canonization. I want to hold an accurate picture of who my grandma was in my head because that’s the person I want to remember, the person I’m still fond of.