Chase said to Mom, What Does Fondly Mean?

A nine year old asking for the meaning of a word he had never heard mentioned and mom tells him what it stands for. Little children are known for saying what they think and sometimes the person on the other end may think it not appropriate; yet other times things they say are very cute and worthy of great thought. When I was a kid, the next door neighbor Mrs. Rawlings’ first grandson Michael use to visit his grandmother often because he lived close by. My mom thought him quite adorable and every time she saw him, she gave him his special snack- a long pretzel probably about eighteen inches long. He loved them and always knew she would have a container waiting for him to pick one out. One day, he looked at her and said “Mrs. Sohmer, today I am not talking to you.” “OK, Michael, see you next week.” He saw her walking away and starting to close the front door. “Wait, I changed my mind, I am talking.” So he got his pretzel and rode down the street on his little bike. He was about seven at that time. My own grandchildren are always saying such profound, cute and of course, smart things. All grandparents think this about their grandchildren. I gave to my podiatrist doctor a present for her forty-fourth birthday. It is a sterling silver charm shaped like a dog tag and on front her name Sharon and on back the words “ Fondly, Elita”. Her oldest son Chase Ritter thought it quite neat with his mom’s name on front and turned it over and saw the fondly word. He said “what does this fondly mean”? I guess in his nine year old mind, he had not heard the word fondly. In my day, fondly was used all the time. When you were fond of someone, you really liked them. They were not in your family, so you did not love them; they were a dear acquaintance and you cared a lot about them. The dictionary says it means affectionate, adoring, liking. I got to thinking about the words fond and fondly and thought perhaps, if this word were to be used more often, then people would become closer to each other. Think about the people you know outside of your family and if you gave them a charm like I did; would they be worthy of the word fondly? I could make a list of many people, I come in contact with, either in person or on my email list and probably, I could use the word fond dozens of times. I write online in many capacities and so I have lots of friends through the email, who I have never met, but I consider them my dear and fond friends. My first email pal was someone I met in person many times at dances through the years and he was the editor of a dance magazine called Amateur Dancers. He put an ad in during September 1990 for an editor to write and take charge of the new section called senior in the magazine. I applied and got the position and stayed on for seventeen years writing and editing the page geared towards seniors who ballroom danced. His name is Robert Jacob Meyer and we have not seen each other now for about 14 years, but we email often. He is my friend and many times, I will sign an email to him with fondest regards or fondly. He gave to me the opportunity to write articles about dancing and mainly to encourage everyone to ballroom dance. He is my mentor and friend. There are my dear friends in , when she did not like something I sent her about the election. She dropped me like a hot potato over politics even though she cared for me more than her biological sister. So no fondly or fondness there anymore. There are many more folks, men and women who I will add the word fondly, when I write to them and them to me. I heard a sweet line on television today. The person said to her almost ex-husband “we have to decide whose turn it is, to be happy now.” That is a very provocative statement. We need not take turns in being happy. There is an enough supply of happiness to go around for all of us. There is enough fondness to go around for all of us too. Chase Ritter mentioned above, the smart nine year old boy who is the son of Dr. Sharon Siebold and Dr.Wade Ritter is astute and nice enough to realize now that Mom has taught him a fine new word. It probably is not used much now days and especially in a nine year olds world, but at least he understands that Mom got this present for her birthday, from a lady patient who like her a lot. His mom and I were talking about something and I said that I would most likely not write about it, in an article and she said “we will write it in our minds.” Writing in your mind is quite another fine way of expressing one’s self. Chase is the brother of three brothers, all quite handsome, smart and nice kids. They are Parker, Mason and Drew. These intelligent four brothers are devoted to each other and they think mom and dad are neat, because both are podiatrists here in Baltimore County. Nice children, smart children, kind children, delightful children are all thought of fondly by everyone they know and of course with great love from their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Let us all incorporate the old fashioned word named fondly or fondness in our current vocabulary and remember to use it often. Our days may become warmer, more caring and with thoughtful moments and hours and this sustains our life and makes it happier. Write the word in your mind and it is now your turn to be happy. More from Hunt Valley-Cockeysville A nine year old asking for the meaning of a word he had never heard mentioned and mom telling him the significance of it. Little children are known for saying what they think and sometimes the person on the other end may think it not appropriate; yet other times things they say are very cute and worthy of great thought. When I was a kid, the next door neighbor Mrs. Rawlings’ first grandson Michael use to visit his grandmother often because he lived close by. My mom thought him quite adorable and every time she saw him, she gave him his special snack- a long pretzel probably about eighteen inches long. He loved them and always knew she would have a container waiting for him to pick one out. One day, he looked at her and said “Mrs. Sohmer, today I am not talking to you.” “OK, Michael, see you next week.” He saw her walking away and starting to close the front door. “Wait, I changed my mind, I am talking.” So he got his pretzel and rode down the street on his little bike. He was about seven at that time. My own grandchildren are always saying such profound, cute and of course, smart things. All grandparents think this about their grandchildren. I gave to my podiatrist doctor a present for her forty-fourth birthday. It is a sterling silver charm shaped like a dog tag and on front her name Sharon and on back the words “ Fondly, Elita”. Her oldest son Chase Ritter thought it quite neat with his mom’s name on front and turned it over and saw the fondly word. He said “what does this fondly mean”? I guess in his nine year old mind, he had not heard the word fondly. In my day, fondly was used all the time. When you were fond of someone, you really liked them. They were not in your family, so you did not love them; they were a dear acquaintance and you cared a lot about them. The dictionary says it means affectionate, adoring, liking. I got to thinking about the words fond and fondly and thought perhaps, if this word were to be used more often, then people would become closer to each other. Think about the people you know outside of your family and if you gave them a charm like I did; would they be worthy of the word fondly? I could make a list of many people, I come in contact with, either in person or on my email list and probably, I could use the word fond dozens of times. I write online in many capacities and so I have lots of friends through the email, who I have never met, but I consider them my dear and fond friends. My first email pal was someone I met in person many times at dances through the years and he was the editor of a dance magazine called Amateur Dancers. He put an ad in during September 1990 for an editor to write and take charge of the new section called senior in the magazine. I applied and got the position and stayed on for seventeen years writing and editing the page geared towards seniors who ballroom danced. His name is Robert Jacob Meyer and we have not seen each other now for about ten years, but we email often. He is my friend and many times, I will sign an email to him with fondest regards or fondly. He gave to me the opportunity to write articles about dancing and mainly to encourage everyone to ballroom dance, regardless of their age. He was my mentor and then my friend. More from Across Patch •Teams Set For NCAA Men's Basketball Championship •BREAKING: Amtrak Train Crash Kills 2; Service Suspended On Northeast Corridor •NYPD Strips Brooklyn Lieutenant of Badge, Gun Over Controversial Mailman Arrest •'Real Housewives' Daughter Claims Traffic Stop Rape There are my dear friends in California, Antonio and Alexia Cardenas and we have never met; they are my fond friends. They painted for me two acrylic dance paintings done on glass and sent them to me many years ago to thank me for my writings in Amateur Dancers magazine. We have never met, but through the email we are fond friends. Another friend who told me she loved me like I was her sister; in fact, she liked me better than her sister, stopped emailing me during the last election when she did not like something I sent her about the election. She dropped me like a hot potato over politics even though she cared for me more than her biological sister. So no fondly or fondness there anymore. There are many more folks, men and women who I will add the word fondly, when I write to them and them to me. I heard a sweet line on television today. The person said to her almost ex-husband “we have to decide whose turn it is, to be happy now.” That is a very provocative statement. We need not take turns in being happy. There is an enough supply of happiness to go around for all of us. There is enough fondness to go around for all of us too. Chase Ritter mentioned above, the smart nine year old boy who is the son of Dr. Sharon Siebold and Dr.Wade Ritter is astute and nice enough to realize now that Mom has taught him a fine new word. It probably is not used much now days and especially in a nine year old’s world, but at least he understands that Mom got this present for her birthday from a lady who wished her fond thoughts and had it engraved on back of a sterling silver charm. ADVERTISING His mom and I were talking about something and I said that I would most likely not write about it, in an article and she said “we will write it in our minds.” Writing in your mind is quite another fine way of expressing one’s self. Chase is the brother of three brothers, all quite handsome, smart and nice kids. They are Parker, Mason and Drew. These intelligent four brothers are devoted to each other and they think mom and dad are neat, because both are podiatrists here in Baltimore County. Nice children, smart children, kind children, delightful children are all thought of fondly by everyone they know and of course with great love from their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Let us all incorporate the old fashioned word named fondly or fondness in our current vocabulary and remember to use it often. Our days may become warmer, more caring and with thoughtful moments and hours and this sustains our life and makes it happier. Write the word in your mind and it is now your turn to be happy. More from Hunt Valley-Cockeysville