Livin' N Love
Join Rondo and Kimi as they share heartfelt conversations about marriage, love, and real-life obstacles. From navigating challenges to celebrating wins, we're here to make you laugh and keep it real.
Livin' N Love
From Swipes to Forever: Kimi and Rondo's Journey
Have you ever wondered if those dating app matches could actually lead to something real? Kimi and Rondo's love story might just restore your faith in modern romance. What started with a simple "Hey, how you doing?" message on Hinge—one that Kimi nearly dismissed—blossomed into a deep connection that defied both their expectations.
Join us each week as we explore love, faith, and family dynamics with honesty and humor. We welcome your thoughts and experiences—because the conversation is always better when we share it together. Follow us on Instagram @livinlovepod for more content between episodes and become part of our Living N' Love community!
Got a question or topic you want us to cover? Email us at: livinlovepodcast@gmail.com
Hi, I'm Kimmy.
Speaker 2:And I'm Rondo.
Speaker 1:And we are Living In Love. What's up, guys? Welcome to this week's episode of Living In Love, which is technically the first episode of Living In Love. I am one of your hosts, kimmy, and then I have my lovely husband here.
Speaker 2:Yes, Rondo.
Speaker 1:Rondo, very lovely. So, given this is our first episode, we just kind of wanted to jump in and introduce who we are. And we were just sitting here talking and y'all, we have been putting off this podcast for yeah.
Speaker 2:We should have been doing it, we should have done this a long time ago.
Speaker 1:I was trying to say that I was. But life be lifin' Life do Life is lifin'. So we finally were sitting here having a really good conversation and we decided like yo, let's just pick up the mics and let's just let's do it, let's do the thing. So again, I'm Kimmy and this is my husband, rondo. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I mean we could just go back to what we was already talking about, you know. So, yeah, I mean we can just go back to what we was already talking about. I'll just start off by saying, like you know, just that whole experience of meeting you for the first time, you know, after, like I said, we met on Hinge and that to me, like it always blows my mind, that we met on hinge and it just went from there you know, yeah, I did not expect that, like when I first um matched with you, like I think we was just talking about that and you was talking about how I uh, talk, say that, say that for how I, okay.
Speaker 1:So yeah, we were talking about the first time that we met. That was what brought up this conversation and our love story is so taboo. We met, like he said, on Hinge and I just feel like that was something that we were both embarrassed to reveal. But it's like. You know, it is 2025. Everybody's meeting everybody online. When I first met him, I had been swiping on Hinge and I was going back and forth, deleting the app, redownloading the app, deleting it, all that good stuff. And then I went to go visit my best friend Shout out to you, t. I went to go visit her while she was in the hospital and I was showing her pictures of Rondo, because I was was like I don't know T, like I want you to see his pictures, and so T saw his picture she gonna laugh at this story and she was like his angles are a little off, I don't know. I don't know, kimmy, um, and that night, for some reason, I was just like okay, he had messaged me first and he gave me the typical hey, how you doing?
Speaker 2:and yeah, it was a lot smoother than that. But that's fine, you can say what you want to say yeah.
Speaker 1:So he was like, hey, how you doing. And I'm like, oh my gosh, this is how every man starts off the intro. So I immediately was going to be like swipe and delete um, but for some reason I kept it in my inbox. It took me two days to respond um and, even though t was not a fan of his camera angles, I messaged him back and I feel like we've been talking ever since I mean we're married now.
Speaker 2:That's funny because now we we're here and it's almost two years later and we have not missed a day with like literally from that moment when we I think, did we, did we fall asleep on the phone yeah, yep, the first night we talked after I asked for your number. Now let's get to that part because, after that hey, how you doing after that.
Speaker 2:You know, we had conversation and I was literally like uh, I asked you for your number yeah I forgot what was the what was the conversation, because we was asking it was just genuine open conversation. Hey, what do you? Do for for a living and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:I have the messages.
Speaker 2:I wish I could pull them up, but then it just got to that point, you know, and then I asked for your number and I was beating myself up. I was like, oh shit, Because you know, normally like being on that app or being single like I've already been, I, when I like being on that app or being single like I've already been, I was single for five years before I met Kimmy, Whew and Drought, Shut up, Sorry, Anyway. So, like normally, when I would ask a woman for her number and it was like in a situation where I'm talking to her on social media, it would always be a red flag. I don't know why that's a big deal, why women do that. They don't want you to ask for their number, They'd rather give you their social media or something like that. But normally, if I ask for a woman's number, it'll just be okay.
Speaker 1:They'll write you off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or they'll just ghost me. I'm not going to talk to them. He asked for my number. That's not what you do, so I was beating myself up for that. I'm like oh man, I asked for my number, I shouldn't have asked for it. And I'm like okay, now I know she's not going to talk to me because it was a pause in that conversation after I asked for your number.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I was shocked when she was like oh, that's, you gave me your number. We literally have talked. We would fall asleep on it. I was over the road at the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, driving trucks. He's a truck driver.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I would be in a hotel, we would be talking.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And we would be on the phone falling asleep. So, like I said, from that point that I asked for your number, we talked every single night and on the phone. Yeah, fall asleep on the phone and and once we, uh, finally saw each other physically, we we sleeping together yeah, I mean say it like that well, yeah, wait, that's another story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a different story not everybody know that story, babe, oh my gosh no um yeah, and I mean we were just talking about how, when men ask for women's number, like rondo was like you know, why do women have all of these rules? They're like, no, you can't have my number, but I'll give you my Instagram or I'll give you a different type of, you know, social media situation, and I was expressing that people be playing. People play way too much this day and age and I think women are afraid to give out too much because then you become vulnerable and then you risk, you know, getting hurt, and so I think that's part of the reason why maybe there is that kind of hesitation with giving out numbers. You don't want to give too much too fast. But I also I understand where you're coming from, because it's like it's just a phone number Like can?
Speaker 2:I just have your number, please, but wait, let's talk about that for a second. Like, why Like give? I just have your number, please. But wait, let's talk about that for a second. Like, why Like? Give me some examples. Like why do women do?
Speaker 1:that.
Speaker 2:Where, when you ask for, when a man asks for your number, you know you're kind of hesitant, but give me some examples of you giving somebody your number and that kind of went left.
Speaker 1:I mean, without getting too much into my business, I can recall a time when I went on a date with a guy. He had my number and things on the date turned aggressive and I told you this story before, but you probably don't know what I'm talking about because I'm not giving details. But it got aggressive and he didn't have my. Well, he had my number, he had my instagram, or I actually think he found me on instagram, um, and he started sending aggressive messages to my phone. So I blocked his number, um, and then a couple hours later he was sending aggressive messages to my instagram page. Then I had to block him there. So it just becomes like all of these different levels of security that now I have to build, all because I decided to give you my number and with a phone number you can unlock so many different other levels of things. You can look up people's addresses with a phone number. Um, not saying I've done that before, yeah, I'm just saying you could like.
Speaker 1:You don't need a lot of information to find people, and I think that's scary for women these days. It can be scary for men too. Men get um harassed, and you know all of those things that happen to women as well. I think men get that same level of um kind of like being bothered by someone that maybe they don't want to mess with no more, even on social media. It doesn't even have to be a phone number, but a phone number is like a key to so many different other things. So I think that's why that was my long winded answer as to why people don't want to give out their number.
Speaker 2:So it's more of like a protective thing where you know you just like, well, I don't want somebody harassing me Right. Or where you know you just like well, I don't want somebody harassing me right, or you? Know finding out certain information about me yeah exactly exactly, and then people showing up at your house, they showing up at your job how could that's crazy, that of that just giving your phone about can lead to a person showing up at your house yeah, that's why that's wild.
Speaker 1:I feel like our connection is truly nothing but God because, um, I will admit, you know, and before meeting you, I was very like I didn't have a lot of boundaries when it came to dating and stuff, and so I think that's why I was willing to give you my number, but the hesitation that I had on hinge, with you reaching out normally I would have just written that off and been like no, but there was something that was like let me just try. And I think that that little push of just trying, like you know, pulled us into this amazing you know love story, amazing marriage not saying our marriage is perfect.
Speaker 1:But what marriage is perfect exactly? Um, but it's just really turned the page for so many different outlets and avenues.
Speaker 2:And I'll answer that because you said that you know it was God and it definitely was, because when I asked you for your number there was a hesitation and I was like, well, hold on, woman, I ain't no wait around for too long she had me on pause. I'm like, okay, somebody gonna answer something, cause I need to know you gonna get to me or not.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I remember going back and forth with them Like, oh man, and it's so funny because we were being like. I remember we were back and forth with our messages Like there wasn't a huge pause, and I remember when you asked me for my number and I was like shoot, that was a pause. That was the yeah, so I think that's on that, on the security of things. But yeah, after you got my number, we have been talking for, I think, like three-ish weeks before meeting in person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because, like I said, I was in Iowa at the at the time. I was over the road, but I was in Iowa and we would talk. But we, I think we were planning to see each other we were planning that first date, that first like us seeing each other physically in person. Um, we were planning that, so we kept talking about that and I was like okay, when I come back, uh, which, you were in Milwaukee, I wasn't, well, I was living in Chicago yeah so I'm saying, come back like I'm coming back to the same place.
Speaker 2:It wasn't that, it was just, you know, I was in Iowa, um, and I was like, okay, when I get back home to Chicago, then you know, let's, um, you know, let's, you know, plan something where we can see each other. And so yeah, we did that, and I think the next day I came Was it the next?
Speaker 1:I mean, we had been planning something for a few weeks, but it was like now I'm about to give specific dates um, it was. It was three weeks later.
Speaker 2:Three, four weeks later no, I'm saying so, I had been back oh, yeah, yeah when we saw each other physically. I think it was only a couple days or so yeah, that you had been back in. Chicago, yeah, so yeah, and then we went on that first date and you know and I was just telling her this too, though, because we were talking, listen, I didn't know she was stacked like that, I didn't know she was built like that. You know, cause I was like yeah, I didn't know you was built like I didn't know.
Speaker 2:I just didn't know.
Speaker 1:How was I built? Babe, she's a brick, but bad. I didn't know. You was built like I didn't know. I just didn't know how was I built? What was I built?
Speaker 2:like she's a brick, but I didn't know she had it like that. I ain't no sure you had the cakes, yeah, whatever, I didn't know. Because, like, on your like, you're very, she's very, you're very, um, what's the word I'm looking for? You're very. You have a lot of like modest. You're very, she's very, you're very. What's the word I'm looking for? You're very. You have a lot of like modest, you're very modest, and you conduct yourself a certain way, like you respect yourself.
Speaker 2:You don't wear certain things, you don't expose, like you know, your body and all that to the world. So you know, you don't dress like that, not saying that I'm in that kind of thing, I want to see it. You know you don't dress like that, not saying that I'm in that kind of thing, I want to see it, you know. But I'm gonna see it in behind closed door, I don't want everybody else to see it. But, um, you know, I didn't know you. You know, all I knew was your voice and I knew you. You know just conversation, but I didn't knew, I didn't know exactly, like, um, the full effect of what you actually look like physically. You know, pictures can be one thing, but then when?
Speaker 2:you see a person face-to-face, that's a whole different situation. So I was like, yeah, I'm like, oh, yeah, she fine, I know she fine she's chocolate, like I like them, and all that. And you know, I was just telling you, like you know, I saw a video. I think I saw a video and I was like oh my who, who's that like who?
Speaker 2:for those of you who know, I felt bad because I'm like dang yeah, it is, I don't like her, but I'm looking at this video and there's chickens in this video and she, yeah man video.
Speaker 1:Vixen is crazy video vixen, oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:I was like man and I felt bad Because I'm like dang, but all along that was you.
Speaker 1:In that video.
Speaker 2:So when, when you came, she came to Chicago, she actually drove to Chicago.
Speaker 1:I went and got my man y'all.
Speaker 2:Yes, she did, she came, she drove to Chicago Because I think At the time my car had went down Like, I think, my engine Ball had blown yeah, and. I didn't, it was cool. I was like all right, I'll fix it later, because I'm a truck driver, I drive trucks all the time anyway. So I really wasn't even driving the car, yeah, but my engine, my engine had blown and I had it, uh, just sitting you know, and, um, yeah, so she, she drove to chicago.
Speaker 2:Um, we had planned a date and I don't know how did I end up driving?
Speaker 1:Well, wait, yeah, so when I got to Chicago, I think I had mentioned to you that something was wrong with my brakes Right and so, and also I didn't know where I was going, and so I was like you know what you drive, which is crazy of me because this is my first time meeting this man and I'm letting him drive my car. For all the girls out there, don't do stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Okay, excuse me, you can do stuff how she going to get and fall in love and tell you not to fall in love, not, as I do Like this.
Speaker 1:And to trust your man right away.
Speaker 2:I know I did trust you. It worked out. I did.
Speaker 1:I felt like I was really following my intuition, I was also um very, very close to god. I mean, I still am I'm not saying that I'm not but I trusted you. So I was like you know, I don't know where I'm going. So can we switch seats? And we switched, and in the midst of us switching, I caught a glance of him. He caught a glance of me.
Speaker 2:He was watching me walk away. Y'all I did. She was walking away like what's that Waiting to exhale?
Speaker 1:He watching me walk away? Yeah.
Speaker 2:I sure was yeah.
Speaker 1:He was a good man, savannah, but yeah, so we switched and um, but yeah, so we switched and then he drove us to um a restaurant, are we?
Speaker 2:shouting out the restaurant. They don't sponsor us, oh okay, no. Well, first of all, this is not a chicago restaurant.
Speaker 1:That was not. It's in a suburb of chicago well, it was in new lenox.
Speaker 2:If I'm not mistaken, it was in new lenox. So it's like, yeah, suburb Chicago, suburb Chicago land area. But, you know that was one of my restaurants. You know it's probably not a popular restaurant, so don't think you know people get real specific. Yeah, but no, that was a restaurant I had wanted to go to because I like their wins.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But it's a sports bar called Legends. Yeah.
Speaker 1:In New Lenox.
Speaker 1:Yeah, shout out Legends, yeah, but it's a sports bar called legends, yeah, and uh, new linux, yeah, shout out legends. Um. So yeah, and we sat down and y'all the conversation. Let me tell y'all through text message. Anybody can say anything through text messages, right, they can say, like anything, like I want to do this for you, I want to do this, I want to do that, and I'm not talking sexually, I'm talking just like vision wise.
Speaker 1:A lot of people just jump to the intimacy, but it's not that. We sat in Legends and this man told me his whole vision for us being together, and I had never experienced anything like that in any relationship that I had been in, and so like that was extremely like a green flag for me. He pointed out every detail. There was no gap in anything that he explained. I laugh about it now because, going back to it, we were sitting, the waiters sat us in kind of an isolated spot and it was quiet at first, and then a group came and sat next to us and it started to get loud and if you know anything about rondo, like he's soft-spoken but not soft-spoken, like he's not shy.
Speaker 1:If you think he's shy, he's really. Just let me not give off the secrets of your personality.
Speaker 2:Well, you can talk about me, talk about me all day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if he seems shy, he's just reading the room and, um, with him being soft-spoken. It's funny because I'm also soft-spoken, but he's soft-spoken with authority. I wish y'all could experience I mean you, yeah, maybe you will experience it, I don't know, but I couldn't really hear every word of what he was saying. But, um, from the things that I could pick out, I was like this man, like he's got it paved out for us, um, and it was just such like there was so, so much peace to that. So that was just something special about that that day.
Speaker 1:Um, that was, yeah, it was an amazing first day and that goes to show all of y'all who are like, oh no, my first date needs to be um at, you know some fancy place or whatever.
Speaker 2:no, no, y'all. You got to wing it. You got to wing it, just go with the flow. Sometimes, everything is not. Look, love don't happen when you just plan out love, right, you know what I'm saying. You got to just wing it. You got to just go with the flow. Sometimes you got to go with your gut feeling.
Speaker 2:Sometimes, your gut feeling say oh, this nigga ain't shit, Sometimes nigga ain't shit, I'm trying to be like okay, I need to try something different, don't be afraid to try something different. When you try something different, look, I wasn't into the online dating thing, the Hinge thing. Look at me, look at us. We met on Hinge. That was something different that I tried, Even though Kimberley think that I jumped on Hinge because hands, because she thought I had a problem approaching women. I was like wait what yeah, she's like yeah, normally people get on here because they don't know how to talk. I was like, wait what? The devil is alive?
Speaker 1:Yeah, because it's so rare these days, men are not approaching women in real life.
Speaker 2:I was approaching women. I'm just going to say that I believe days like men are not approaching women in real life. I was approaching women. I believe you now, I was approaching women. It just I. I just I wasn't running into maybe I wasn't running into the right women.
Speaker 2:It was for a reason god had you for me okay, I'll say that you know, um, everybody ain't meant to approach, but sometimes even when you approach a woman, she don't like that. Some women, I don't know, it's just different now with dating Some women they don't even want you approaching them.
Speaker 1:It's scary, it's very scary. You don't know who's involved in what you don't know where you might end up. You got to bring weapons on dates. Nowadays's crazy. That's crazy to me, but it's true. Like you have to be prepared to expect the unexpected, because the world is so, so unpredictable these days. Um, and like I said, that goes for women and that goes for men. Like I mean, you've told me some stories you don't gotta, you know, break them down in detail where I'm rep.
Speaker 1:Yeah, where things have gone awry or, you know, things go unexpectedly on a date or maybe with someone that you're meeting, and so I think all around like it's just important to be mindful of that. Times are changing and there are good things about that and there's bad things about that, but I just think it's good to be prepared for it all. That's why, with you, I'm like we really took a risk on each other. I think.
Speaker 2:We did? Yeah, we did, and that was a big. I actually commend you for what you did, though, because, like I said, as a woman to drive and she lived in Milwaukee I don't know if we said that, but you're from milwaukee she lived in milwaukee and I was in chicago, so you drove two hours yep to come and see me yeah and have a date with me yeah women don't do that I wouldn't have done that for anybody else.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you that right now, don't do that.
Speaker 2:So that means you went out on a limb. You went, you know, you trusted your gut feeling. Yeah, you trusted me and that says a lot. I think that's to me the highlight of you know everything, just me getting to know you Like for me, I'll always cherish that. I'll always have respect for you for that, because I always say you saved my life and you tell me the same thing Yep, you saved mine as well, but at the same time, like I said, as a woman, to drive to a man, like you say, was scary I think that would be scary you know to do. And you told me you gave your sister your location.
Speaker 1:Yeah, liv Shout, yeah, yeah, Liv, shout out to you Liv.
Speaker 2:She put her killers on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, shout out to Liv, she knew, she knew.
Speaker 2:That was the only one we knew Killers on standby.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because if my mama knew, oh Lord, my mama be like girl where you going. I love you too, mom, but yeah.
Speaker 2:Your mama would have.
Speaker 2:But no, she drove out there and I was shocked and I remember when you did come, when we go back, because let's talk about that, let's talk about the fact that I didn't believe you were actually there Because I've been through, like you just mentioned that a little bit but I've been through situations where I was talking to somebody and they were lying to me All the way up until the point where it came to actually physically seeing them, you know, and so I thought she was lying because you said, oh, I'm here and I'm like okay. I walk outside, she ain't there.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, and then I think you said yeah, what happened?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I was. I was legit like five minutes away from from you and I had to pee so bad to go to the bathroom y'all. And if anybody knows anything about me, I am so iffy about the bathrooms that I use, so I was like, okay, I want to find a place where I can use the bathroom, cause I'm like when I get to him I don't know if I'm going to be able to use the bathroom or what that situation is going to be like and, if anything, not to cut you off.
Speaker 2:But if anybody knows, anybody from chicago, you know, ain't no using no bathroom, no public bathrooms, nowhere ain't gonna be no good one no, I didn't know.
Speaker 1:You ain't gonna stop nowhere and use no bathroom yeah, and sure enough, I stopped at a walgreens that I thought was a nice establishment and I went into that bathroom y'all. That bathroom was so nasty like I thought something was gonna jump off that seat, okay it was disgusting, um. But I used the bathroom and I took like 10-15 minutes, um, just to like kind of freshen up and stuff. And uh, he had texted me like you, okay, or something like that, and I was like yeah, yeah, I'm good, you know. And then I came, but he not gonna tell y'all how he gave me the runaround, I didn't, I did not.
Speaker 2:You call it a runaround. I don't think so.
Speaker 1:You gave me the runaround. I show up y'all and this man says that he saw me. I had parked in like a specific spot.
Speaker 2:Well, I didn't reveal that information until later.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I didn't find this out until maybe like a month or two of us dating. But I had parked in a specific spot and he saw me and he told me didn't you tell me to like drive around somewhere or something?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Cause I was. I was trying to, I was trying to get you to see me.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because I didn't want to cause, like I said, you know women be like oh, you thirsty? Yeah, I didn't want to be too thirsty, I was trying to be cool, yeah, man.
Speaker 1:Also just a note to Chicago as a whole if y'all are going to have speed bumps, can you put a sign please, because y'all messed my car up.
Speaker 2:Listen the speed bump is the sign we got the biggest speed bump. There ain't even no speed bump, that's a hill.
Speaker 1:You know I feel like it's a vendetta against anybody coming into that city, specifically Milwaukeeans, just because y'all got the Bears who keep losing, don't mean y'all got to Hold on.
Speaker 2:Wait a minute, I'm a Bears fan.
Speaker 1:I just want to put that out there.
Speaker 2:I do love the Bears and I love the Packers and I know people are going to hate me for this you didn't say that on the record.
Speaker 1:Y'all built an arena to lose. She went there, didn't she?
Speaker 2:I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:The Packers won Eber Fluster. That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Anyway, all right, okay, we're being petty. Today we're going to talk about sports. Let's see how this season goes.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh. Anyway, in 50 ways. So, yeah, he gave me the runaround. That's neither here nor there, but we had that awesome, amazing day at Legends. Yeah, are we going to talk about?
Speaker 2:what we talked about Wait we was talking about when you showed up. When you showed up. Oh, we talked about that already, Well no, I was just going to say that because you said I gave you the runaround yes. So then how did I?
Speaker 1:get you the runaround. Well, eventually you you told you gave me the right direction and I was able to find so the thing is I was.
Speaker 2:I literally saw her parked and I was trying to get her to like drive past me.
Speaker 1:So she wanted to see if she drove right past me, didn't even look. I'm literally, I'm standing there, I want y'all to know. My prescription for my eyeglasses are a negative 2.75.
Speaker 2:I do not have 20 20 vision that is saying, okay, it could have been a dog walking towards me and I would not have known proceed. Babe which means she shouldn't be driving. I just want to say that.
Speaker 1:I am required to wear glasses when I drive. Just telling yourself is crazy.
Speaker 2:So when you get pulled over, make sure you say that.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:They're going to say it makes sense.
Speaker 1:It all makes sense now. Yeah, oh, gosh yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like she said, I got said I didn't give you the runaround, I just didn't, like I said, from my perspective, I thought you wasn't there and you were lying to me until I came outside and I saw you, but I didn't honestly know for sure that that was you. I said what kind of car are you in? She said I'm in a white car.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I saw you sitting right there in the lot and I said, okay, come on this way in the lot. And I said, okay, come on this way. And I literally talked you through how to get to where you're at. I should have just told you to stop right there where.
Speaker 1:I was standing. You didn't. I didn't. He had me out here in these Chicago streets, y'all. She was fine.
Speaker 2:She was in my hood, she was fine, she was alright. I promise you, she was alright.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that was our first meeting, first date, Everything yeah From there on out. We have just been rocking it out for almost two years.
Speaker 1:We've been married for about six months together for a year and a half and every day, like and every day is just I don't know, in my opinion, like every day I feel like I find something more that I love about him, no matter what's going on. I think anybody in a marriage can speak to that. But he's always teaching me things about myself. I hope I'm teaching him things about himself. No, you definitely do, yeah.
Speaker 2:You definitely do Like a whole lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can say that the thing that truly gets us through Is keeping God as our foundation. Each and every day he is working on the both of it. Y'all hear my husband be cussing. I'll be getting on him about his cussing, but that's neither here nor there, but we all got our things.
Speaker 2:My grandma taught me how to cuss.
Speaker 1:My grandma taught me how to cuss. She was a cussing Christian.
Speaker 2:Well, my granny, not my grandma. I'm lying Wrong my granny, my grandma is my mother's mother, my granny is my dad's mother and that's a cussing. Somebody Listen, I'm going to tell you right now. Side note my granny is literally the real life. Madea, I'm not playing with y'all Not playing If I hope, like I. Just I wish she could have went like you know did stand-up comedy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Or something I wish she could have. You know, did something where she just became famous? Yeah, or whatever, not even, it don't even matter, I just wish people can experience her. Yeah, just, you know what I'm saying, because I'm telling you all right, that lady is funny. Well, if she's anything, like you and she'll cuss anybody out.
Speaker 1:Then, yes, she is hilarious, Well, but yeah, so I think that we pull things out of each other that we see, and it becomes like a fine-tuning situation. I think it's actually more than a fine-tune, because marriage is a huge mirror and it'll make you look at the things within yourself to be like, dang, I didn't know I had that wrong with me, like what you mean, I don't take accountability.
Speaker 2:I do take accountability.
Speaker 1:And then you find out no, kimmy, you don't take accountability. Yeah, so it's just so many different beautiful things that Come with being married to you, specifically you trying to talk to me some time. No, I'm talking to your nice.
Speaker 2:Let's log off For real.
Speaker 1:But no, there's just so many beautiful things that I wasn't expecting out of marriage that I'm learning From you everyday, you, you know, from our girls, from everything, so yeah, you know, and I was just we was just talking about this too, and I want to mention that, like how we was just having our little moment.
Speaker 2:One of the things I really love about Kim is, you know the way you talk to me, like I've never been with a woman that talked to me the way you talk to me. You know how y'all women are. Y'all like to be talked to.
Speaker 2:Y'all like to be reassured and somebody that's going to flirt with you. I love the fact that you flirt with me. I love the fact that you reassure me and you talk to me a certain way. You remind me of why you love me and you remind me of how attracted you are to me, and vice versa. Sometimes I feel like I do a little better. Well, no, I guess you can answer that question, but I try to play with you every chance I get, every chance I get.
Speaker 2:I think her thing is if I don't squeeze her booty, she's got a problem.
Speaker 1:I'm like what's wrong with you today? Yeah, you got a fever. You're blind. What's going on? You ain't touch me today.
Speaker 2:I'm not too blind.
Speaker 1:That's crazy. No, I mean, I think that's a big thing. Like understanding how to talk to your husband is huge, and vice versa. I think it's in Colossians. The Bible says you know, husbands, speak to your wives gently Somebody correct me if this is wrong but then it also talks about wives listening to their husbands. I struggle with that. I'm not going to sit here and lie. It's hard.
Speaker 2:You're hard. Yeah, I am hard.
Speaker 1:As are you. It's hard to replace Not to replace but it's hard to get out of the things that you've been conditioned to learn when it comes to relationships and, kind of you know, spin it on its head and approach it from a different perspective. Um, in terms of like, being like, I mean. I've you know that I grew up in a single parent home, and so the way that I've been taught to approach men is very different and it didn't work for our marriage.
Speaker 1:It doesn't work for our marriage, um, and so it's been a challenge to figure out how to reteach myself, um, what it means to approach a man who does deserve me and who does treat me well and who does all of the things that I wasn't expecting out of a man because of the things that I was raised to believe.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I agree with that Like. And also I want to say like, going into what you were saying about you know the way you were raised in a single parent household. We were just talking about that and I was like, okay, you know what was my question? I think I said, with you knowing what you've learned from growing up and things that were taught to you and you realizing that, hey, some of this was good, but this, in particular, may not be what is going to be something productive for me and my marriage.
Speaker 2:How do you address that when it comes to having children? Right you know, um, and and how are you going to uh, reconstruct that, teach your children how to be, or whatever, and I also said that the important thing is that we also show that example of what that looks like.
Speaker 1:Yeah For them.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So can I talk about? Yeah, sure, okay. So, for those who don't know, we have well, rondo brings three daughters into our marriage and so, by marriage, they are my daughters.
Speaker 2:Bonus babies, you call them my bonus babies.
Speaker 1:I love them to death. Shout out to my bonus babies. You call them my bonus babies. I love them to death. Shout out to my bonus babies. Yeah, but in that I've had to be very careful about you know, teaching them how to not only receive well. One of them is really at a dating age right now.
Speaker 2:I was going to say they're only 16. Yeah, I'll be saying names. Oh no, that's okay.
Speaker 1:I'm 16. Yeah, oh, we're saying names. No, that's okay. Yeah, we have a 16 year old and she's at a dating age and so it's important to me to, you know, show her and teach her like, yes, it's important to be in a in a relationship or dating. I'm going to say boys, boys who are kind to you and nice to you, but also still be considerate of their feelings as well. I feel like, or I know I was raised to kind of be in relationships where they only serve me as the woman or you know whatever. But it's like I said, it's important to kind of include men in that conversation so that relationships aren't just solely focused on what can you do for me? But what? How do we bring things to the table together?
Speaker 2:as a team, right? So what we was talking about is basically I think she was saying that she's not going to text him first, or something like that. And so I think your lesson in that was well, you saying, you saying like, hey, well, he's important too. So, you know, my thing is, I feel, like you know, I think from my, from what I've, from my experience, women like to be chased, but I think you should chase each other and that's something that I teach you chase each other.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, if you want who you, if you feel how you feel towards this person, don't be stubborn about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't sit back and, yeah, you know, I ain't going to show them my real feelings. What is that? Yeah, what is that and what's the result of that?
Speaker 1:Right, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what's wrong with I love you or I? Like you whatever, and I want to be with you. Yeah, and me. You expressing it and showing that person that you want to be with them.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Because then you lose somebody if you don't show that, show that. And then you wonder why you gone why you leave me? Well, you make you know, I show you that I want to be with you, yeah, but you don't show me the same thing, so I'm confused, right now that I'm gone, now you saying all of this, but when I was with you, that was not.
Speaker 1:It exactly. Yeah, and I think too, like even with you know, our oldest man, 16, is so difficult because we do not condone relationships in high school. Yes, and so. But you know, circumstances are a little different, and so you know, teaching her about this, but also having it in the back of our minds. Like dang, you shouldn't have to encounter all of this right now, right?
Speaker 2:Because it's too much to deal with at that age yeah. You should be focused on something else. You should be focused on school and making sure you graduate.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then now it's time for dating. Right, exactly Because that's reality Like now it's real, but boys are not mature enough at that age to give you what you're looking for.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And we already know, girls mature faster than boys, you know, in some cases. So you know, yeah, I think it's appropriate for you to be focused on that Now. We can't stop. You know how you feel when you like somebody, that's fine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's natural, but I think it is our duty as parents to always, you know, be there for our children and teach them what to expect and tell them the truth. Let's stop all this cute stuff. Oh, it's cute for you to dress like that. It's cute for you to have a boyfriend. Let's cut that out, because that's failure. We got to sow into our kids something that's productive for them to be able to succeed in life. Not promoting teen pregnancy, because when we do, when we expose a certain thing to them too early, then now we have a problem.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because now there's mistakes.
Speaker 2:Now you're going to make mistakes. But I don't like when parents say, oh well, don't shelter them because then well, wait a minute though, because, okay, give them this too early, and then they mess their life up early versus later. When you become grown, you can do what you want to do. You want to mess your life up, that's on you, you can correct it. I'm not a fan of telling a teen or a child at an earlier age hey, make mistakes now versus later. If you get pregnant, that's it.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. That's not a good mistake to make early. That's a mistake that you should make later. Yeah.
Speaker 1:That's okay. I was going to say, though, you know, shoot, I'm like yeah, no. I don't want to. I know there's probably a lot of people who, um, maybe did get pregnant young and I just want to clarify it's not it, but it does just make things harder. Like, and why would you want that at an early age?
Speaker 2:well, the thing is yeah, I get that, and that's. I'm not being, you know, critical of anybody that did get pregnant at an early age, because I don't know your story.
Speaker 1:Right yeah.
Speaker 2:But the thing is you can't tell me that that success, that you got pregnant early, you can't tell me that that was something that is productive with you going through life. I don't think that's a good decision. But if something happened to you, you know. Again, I want to be critical. That's why I said I want to be too harsh on that, because things happen.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, of course.
Speaker 2:So that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about, you know, allowing your child to date, and the result of that like what I'm really talking about is, as parents, you listen, hold on to your child as long as you can.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Hold on to them, be in their ear. Hold their ear as long as you can you know what I'm saying. Be influential in their life, and I think that takes a great deal of you know what I'm saying. Work, because you got to really be present.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to really be watching them.
Speaker 2:That takes a lot. Yeah, I get that, um, but but, like I said, in no way shape or form am I talking down on anybody that has experienced something tragic that happened to them or whatever the case is right. I'm just saying as parents, I'm really talking about parents. I'm not talking about no like teens or anybody that did something whatever. Yeah, I'm blaming the like the parents is the ones that I'm not talking about no like teens or anybody that did something whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm blaming the like. The parents is the ones that I'm talking to. Parents, make sure you're there for your kids, make sure you are not letting them go too soon, because when you let them go too soon then they make mistakes that will affect them for the rest of their life. That's what I'm saying yeah, yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1:We could do a whole episode on that for sure. So, yeah, I don't even know how to end off on that, but we just kind of wanted to give you all a little taste of who we are as the Smiths and just kind of tell you a little bit about our lives. If y'all have thoughts, we would love to hear them. Please comment, share all of those good things and we would love to hear what you think Absolutely. Maybe you think differently.
Speaker 2:It's open for conversation. We like conversation.
Speaker 1:We love conversation Rondo loves debate. I do, I do not. I don't have the heart for it, but I will express my opinion and so, yeah, we'd love to know what you think. Give us any ideas. We're a blended family. Are we a blended family? Yes, we are a blended family, and we can't wait to have more conversations with you all about the different things that we've encountered in our marriage or just life in general. We always have the best conversations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and we got a lot to talk about. We do, we got a lot. It's just, you know, if we could talk, we'd probably be talking to y'all for days.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:For real, it was just so much. So much, you know, I mean it ain't all bad. Some stuff is kind of tough, but yeah, I mean, everybody has their good and bad but yeah we got a lot to share yeah um, and, and I, I for one, and I think you would agree I want to hear, I want other people to you know, give their opinions and express their experiences with the same thing we've experienced yeah, you know what?
Speaker 1:I'm saying, or even something else yeah, you know so yeah yeah well, thank y'all for joining us on this episode of living in love. We look forward to seeing you all next time again. Don't be afraid to share your thoughts um opinions. You know comments. We welcome it all. Um so. Thank you so much, god bless love the smiths, bye.
Speaker 2:welcome it all, so thank you so much, god bless.
Speaker 1:God bless, love the Smiths. Bye. Thank you so much for tuning in to Living in Love this week. If you're looking for more of us, you can find us on Instagram at liveinlovepod. That's L-I-V-I-N-L-O-V-E-P-O-D. Otherwise, we'll see you next week. Keep living in love, y'all. God bless.