“Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.” — G.B. Stern

SyracuseIn the past 24 hours, visitors to Queercents have stop by from Perth, Western Australia; Athens, Greece; Monterrey, Mexico; and Nanjing, China. I continue to be amazed at how the Internet is the superhighway that connects us.

On any given day though, the majority of our readers hail from the USA and one such person that comes back day after day is Jean. More precisely, she goes by the moniker DivaJean and her thoughtful comments appear almost daily on our posts.

Of course, Queercents could continue to exist without readers, but really what would be the point? Readers that comment are especially valued and over time we get to know them. DivaJean lives in Syracuse, New York with her partner, Susan that she affectionately refers to as her “shusband” — a gloriously butch “she-husband”.

They have three children: the eldest is DivaJayne (the real drama queen of the family), age 7, son Matteo, age 4 and baby Mia, who is 18 months old. They live within walking distance of to both her folks and her in-laws; all who are extremely supportive.

A relatively new dynamic is that Jean is the breadwinner. Since July, Susan is the stay at home parent, while Jean works for a large medical insurance company as a case management nurse.

They get by on one income with careful stewardship of the little they have by making plans and saving up for potential future needs. Jean said, “It may sound ridiculous, but we are actually doing better financially since Susan quit her job. Her being home and having the time to do more cost effective management of our resources has made it so we are actually saving more money now.”

Jean visits Queercents daily to challenge herself as to how the topics posted could potentially impact her financial world. She also enjoys contributing with comments. When I asked if she had a favorite writer, she immediately said it was Rich. Why? Because she loves hearing about how he is raising his niece and the challenges it brings him. She appreciates his familiar tone and finds his posts comfortable to read. That said she was quick to add that she enjoys the various viewpoints of all the writers as well as those who respond frequently with comments.

What makes her take the time to participate? She said, “A mind sometimes not challenged enough at work, seeking to exercise itself.” Jean thinks the dialog about money is interesting and a topic that was once considered taboo to discuss. With our writings, she likes to connect the dots and figure out where everyone is “coming from” in life. The diversity of our contributors is what brings her back. Dyed in the wool New Yorkers, big city types saving on designer duds and homespun lesbian family types who dumpster dive… ahem… Dawn, I think she was referring to you!

Anyway, I wanted to take a break from our regular posting schedule to say thanks to DivaJean and all of our regular readers! Queercents would just be another URL floating out there on the web without the clicks from the likes of you. Thank you!