Decorating the Library Tree

Last year our Library was presented with a lovely snowflake and red-berry covered tall and thin tree for our Fireside Reading Room. Such a designer tree would have felt right at home in the swankiest retail shop in Rochester. Our staff were less than enthusiastic and dubbed it the "Anorexic Tree." Its leanness did not speak to their ideal of "home for the holidays Mom's cooking for the proverbial Cox's army and the table is groaning with goodness." Skinny and uncaring wrapped up the consensus. We were told that the tree had been permanently given to the Library and was ours from this point forward forever ad infinitum. Period.

The staff prayed for a miracle. This year, we got it. Sort of. Turns out that last year, even though we had been told to clearly label the tree box "LIBRARY," they had come and taken it away before we wrote our name on it. So when we requested facilities to bring us our tree, they dutifully brought us a box. I wound my way upstairs to unpack and set it up. Cheerful would not be the word I would use to describe the looks on staff faces.

I opened the box and began pulling out tree parts. It didn't look familiar. I found all sizes and shapes of green branches, but no center post. Can't put a tree together without a trunk. I called facilities and spent the entire morning trying to find their delivery person. When he finally showed up bringing a few other boxes along with the missing ornaments, he explained that the warehouse was just a mess of boxes, and since he didn't see anything labeled Library, he just brought us the first tree he came to.

THAT's when I realized we had a totally different tree! No skinny little cheerless fake thing, this. Here was a full branched gorgeous tree worthy of the season. It took quite some time to hook all the branches in place, matching the colored dots on branch and trunk, then string the white lights around and around.

Yes, it came out into the room, unlike last year's skinny tree which barely took up floor space, but we were more than willing to sacrifice a few feet of space to the merriment of a beautiful tree. THIS tree deserved real ornaments, not some interior decorator's idea of symmetrical and controlled balance. We each brought a few things from home to hang on our "family" tree, which we had placed where it could be enjoyed in tandem with the lighted fireplace (which we key on every morning).

The Fireside Reading Room overlooks the whole of campus, and our beautiful tree can be seen from just about everywhere, being how as the Library is on the highest elevation. I hope its twinkling lights and cheerful ornaments bring a sense of home and happiness to our students and visitors. I know for sure the staff are much happier!