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 explain, "An antique is not only just old; it's an object existing since or belonging to earlier times such as a work of art or a piece of furniture. Antiques are valuable."  We look around the house for antiques. There is a large desk that was handed down from an aunt 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 desk or touch it, I am reminded of the aunt who was dear to me and gave me the desk as a gift. I see her face again, though she is no longer with us. I remember myself as a little girl standing against this antique, listening to one of her stories.  Our tour of antiques continues. There is a picture on the wall purchased at a yard sale. It is dated 1867, and it is not in very good condition. There is a vase on the floor. I'm not certain where it came from, but I didn't buy it new. And then there is an old-style bed, sent to me forty years ago from an uncle who slept in it for fifty years.  "The one thing about antiques," I explain to Jenny, "is that they usually have a story."  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 our antiques show?"  "Only if I fit into your backpack," I answer. And then her antique lifts her up and gives her a big hug that will last through the years. The author shows Jenny many antiques to   _  .
let her learn to value things tell her the stories behind them show her the meaning of the word "antique" help her know more about the family's past