Parents Blog: It is Boston . . . it’s what we do.

So yet again the national news has described Boston as buried in white and struggling. Whether it’s network or cable TV (Snow buries Boston during one of city’s worst winters—Today show), newspapers (USA Today—South the new target of this week’s major snow giving “bitterly cold Boston” a break), or websites CNN Boston has it snowiest month on record), the message to the rest of the country is very clear, and a little alarming. Be glad you are not in Boston, it says, it’s a mess. So what’s a BU parent to think about this barrage of bad news over which they, and the city of Boston, have no control?

I have been in and around Boston for years, way too many for me to admit, and I must say this…winter is tough in Boston. If it’s cold, it’s really cold. And the natural dampness of a coastal city permeates the many layers of that carefully chosen winter apparel. And the wind? Let’s not talk about the wind. Have I mentioned snow yet? Well, yes, it snows in Boston. This year more than most…

Boston winters are memorable. I recall one that, as a grad student, I discovered the luxury of waterproof sheepskin boots, and then found myself still wearing them in April. Boy, was I tired of designing outfits around those boots. My son Bob (Bobby to me) tells everyone that the coldest he has ever felt was at the BU-BC hockey game at Fenway Park in January 2010, and yes, it was snowing that night. But he was there, and did not consider leaving until he was sure BU had won. Fan, yes; hero, no. He just lived in Boston, and that’s what you do.

The BU campus may not be totally free of snow, but it is plowed, navigable, and bustling with activity. That is always the way at BU. Snowball fights abound, abominable snowmen and women, layered to the hilt, head for class, or to crowded common spaces because it is too cold to walk back to the dorm. Life goes on. Just go to the BU Today calendar of events for the upcoming week if you are worried that your student is getting a little stir crazy. Tired of those boots, maybe; stir crazy, with all that to do? Not likely.

Our dorms are warm, our food is good, and our students are engaged. It is winter in Boston, and midterms are coming up. We will all remember this winter for many years to come. I often think Boston goes a little crazy around Saint Patrick’s Day because the winter weather has improved…slightly. Of course, you have to make it all the way to Patriots Day to break out the flip flops. That’s the reality. Winter is long here, but BU and our intrepid students can take it. We are Boston…it’s what we do.

-Jeanne Knox, Chairman, Parents Leadership Council

5 comments

  1. Great piece. When Boston is snowy, it feels a million miles away from sunny San Diego. A good experience for our son to develop his resourcefulness.

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