孫女的古董

My six-year-old granddaughter stares at me as if she is seeing me for the first time. “Grandma， you are an antique，” she says. “You are old. Antiques are old. You are my antique.”

I am not satisfied to let the matter rest there. I take out the 1)Webster’s Dictionary and read the definition to Jenny. I explain， “An antique is not only old， it’s an object existing since or belonging to earlier times ...a work of art ... piece of furniture. Antiques are treasured，” I tell Jenny as I put away the dictionary. “They have to be handled carefully because they sometimes are very valuable.”

In order to qualify as an antique， the object has to be at least 100 years old.

“I’m only 67，” I remind Jenny.

We look around the house for other antiques， besides me. There is a 2)bureau that was handed down from one aunt to another and finally to our family. “It’s very old，” I tell Jenny. “I try to keep it polished and I show it off whenever I can. You do that with antiques.” When Jenny gets older and understands such things， I might also tell her that whenever I look at the bureau or touch it， I am reminded of the aunt so dear to me who gave me the bureau as a gift. I see her face again though she is no longer with us. I even hear her voice， and recall her smile. I remember myself as a little girl leaning against this antique， listening to one of her stories. The bureau does that for me.

There is a picture on the wall purchased at a 3)garage sale. It is dated 1867. “Now that’s an antique，” I boast. “Over 100 years old.” Of course it is 4)marked up and scratched and not in very good condition. “Sometimes age does that，” I tell Jenny. “But the marks are good marks. They show living， being around. That’s something to display with pride. In fact， sometimes， the more an object shows age， the more valuable it can become.” It is important that I believe this for my own self-esteem.

Our tour of antiques continues. There is a vase on the floor. It has been in my house for a long time. I’m not certain where it came from but I didn’t buy it new. And then there is the 5)four poster bed， sent to me 40 years ago by an uncle who slept in it for fifty years.

One thing about antiques， I explain to Jenny， is that they usually have a story. They’ve been in one home and then another， handed down from one family to another， traveling all over the place. They’ve lasted through years and years. They could have been tossed away， or ignored， or destroyed， or lost. But instead， they survived.

For a moment， Jenny looks thoughtful. “I don’t have any antiques but you，” she says. Then her face brightens. “Could I take you to school for show and tell?”

“Only if I fit into your backpack，” I answer.

And then Jenny’s antique lifted her up and embraced her in a hug that would last through the years.

我那六歲大的孫女盯著我看，好像是頭一回見到我一樣。“奶奶，你是件古董。”她說道，“你老，古董也老。你就是我的古董。”

我不想就此罷休，于是拿出《韋氏詞典》，向詹妮讀出“古董”一詞的定義。我解釋道:“一件古董不僅老，還是從前流傳下來，屬于過去的物品……藝術品……家具。古董是被珍藏的寶貝。”我一邊收起詞典，一邊告訴詹妮:“有時候古董是很珍貴的，所以必須小心看管。”

一件物品要稱得上是古董，最起碼得有100年的歷史。

“我才67歲呢。”我提醒詹妮。

我們環顧四周，在屋里找尋除了我以外的其他古董。有個衣柜是從某位阿姨那里一人傳一人最終傳到我們家來的。“它很古老，”我告訴詹妮，“我盡力讓柜子保持光鮮亮麗，一有機會就會向別人炫耀。對于古董，大家都是這樣做的。”等詹妮長大懂事了，我也許還會告訴她，每次我看著或摸著這個柜子時，都會想起把它作為禮物送給我的那位親愛的阿姨。雖然她已經不在世了，但我仍能憶起她的音容笑貌。我記得自己小時候曾倚著這件古董聽她講故事。這衣柜給予了我這些回憶。

墻上有一幅畫，是從一次車庫擺攤大甩賣上買回來的。這幅畫可以追溯到1867年。“現在，它也成了個古董。”我自豪地說道，“它已經有100多年的歷史啦。”當然，畫上有些磨損，還留有刮痕，保養得不怎么好。“有時候，歲月會留下這樣的痕跡，”我告訴詹妮，“但上面的痕跡是好東西。它們是存在的證明，是值得自豪地展示給別人看的東西。事實上，有時候，一件物品越顯年月就會變得越有價值。