Especially fond.
I like it when my mother tells each of her grandchildren, when no one else is around, that she loves them best. I think my wife considers it a little psychotic.
When I pastored a church in Jayton, TX, there was an elderly man who died. When I went to meet with the family, I asked them what they wanted remembered at the funeral, anything that would be appropriate in remembering this special man in their lives. Before the funeral happened each of the 4 children, and several of the grandchildren had found me alone and told me, in their own way, the same thing. “Daddy (or granddaddy) loved me best.” “I was his favorite.” Somehow this man had succeeded in making each of his loved ones feel like they were his favorite. And they really believed it. That may not be healthy, but I considered it a great success on his part.
When my mother tells her grandchildren that she loves them best, they glow, then say something like, “Oh Gran, you tell all of us that.” But they still glow.
In The Shack, God likes to say about his various kids, “I’m especially fond of him (her).” Even if he says that about all of us, I’m especially fond of the thought.
