LOVE LIVES IN US... THE WINSTONS E.L & RONI WINSTON

Love Lives In Us... The Winstons

W I N S T O N A N D T H E M R S . ( E . L . A N D R O N I )

ROCHELLE J PHOTOGRAPHY

Love lives in us…the Winstons. We want to share a little bit of this love with you. In honor of Blaque/Out’s 2- year anniversary, we will be referencing a poem from November 2021, “Love Is” by Ashanti Taylor Alexander and a piece by Mel Howard in April 2022 titled “Love is an Art that Grows”. The Mrs: Alexander’s poem refers to all the conflicting emotions that go into love. All of that contradiction between fear and bravery as well as trust and trepidation are rooted in the fact that relationships are a melding of lives to make one life and it can feel like a rollercoaster. In order to effectively accomplish this meld means that as individuals we have to have put in the hard work, so that we know how to be part of something without giving up who we are. Howard questions the ability to share your scars. True love takes that vulnerability. In order to effectively reach that level means that you have to have treated your scars. The scars of your childhood and your past relationships should have been given the balm they need whether it be therapy, me-time, reflective writing, etc. Take the time to know how you define love for yourself.

Winston: Mel said, “we are the product of everything that we’ve been through”. It takes me back to when we first got together, and we both knew that if we had of gotten together sooner than we did, then we would have messed up because we were still attached to those broken things. Thank the Lord for deliverance, but also thank you, Lord, for those broken things. Without them we wouldn’t have recognized a healed and happy love. We can say that this is the thing that we are “waking up [to] every morning” and we want to share it with the world. Loved people love people. Alexander’s poem reminded me of the commitment we made way before the ‘I do’ when she said, “we offer up the I’s for Us”. I came into a relationship with a woman who had 3 grown

children and one teenager. It was definitely a little scary! LOL…whew! I had to wrap my head around being a parent to kids who weren’t really kids, but I knew that the joining of our two selves meant that what belongs to you belongs to me. Ultimately, it has been the most fulfilling and pure demonstration of love that I’ve ever experienced, and I had to let go of the I to get it. Love has taught us to be present, be kind, and most of all..team work makes the dream work!

Thoughts to Leave You:

For us, the time we took to get to know ourselves as individuals made it easier for us to transition into sharing our lives. We were able to honestly and openly share who we were and what we needed. We continue to put in the work to share ourselves with each other in a neverending process that also means that we have great hopes, dreams, and encouragement for one another. Love truly does live in us!

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A S H A N T I T A Y L O R -ALEXANDER

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