flowers

This week has been really hard for so many people; many weeks are hard for so many people.

With all the hardship in the world, it’s sometimes tough to figure out how to strike the right balance on the blog. We always strive to make Cup of Jo feel like an escape from daily stress, a place where people can come for a fun break during their busy days. We talk about weddings, or careers, or newborn babies, or beautiful words, or, if we’re lucky, how a key works! And yet we try not to shy away from tougher parts of life, including loss and grief, infertility and stillbirth, anxiety and depression, heartbreak and wholeness.

Right now, as people in France, Lebanon, Syria and all over the world are struggling, it can be a challenge to find the right mix on the blog. Even though we are a lifestyle blog, we read the news every day, and as we scour the web, we are always coming across stories and images in real time. It can feel counterintuitive to write about lighter things during a week like this, and yet that’s often what we need and crave most when life feels bleak. We think all the time about how to approach blogging, and there’s never an exact answer.

Today we’re making a donation from Cup of Jo to Unicef, the UN agency helping Syrian children by providing healthcare, nutrition, immunization, water, sanitation and classes. (And if you have other organizations you feel passionate about, please let us know in the comments.) Thank you so much for reading Cup of Jo, and hope everyone is hanging in there.

(Photo by Alpha Smoot)