CHERISH

[verb] [T] - to love, protect and care for (someone or something that is important to you)Although I cherish my children, I do allow them their independence.Her most cherished possession is a 1926 letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald.Freedom of speech is a cherished (= carefully protected) right in this country.To cherish hopes, memories or ideas is to keep them in your mind because they are important to you and bring you pleasure.My grandfather cherished his memories of the years he spent in the army as a young man.