I don't know about you, but sometimes I can get a little too invested in the goings-on of reality television families. I can Kardashian with the best of them, and yes, I probably know a little more about the Duggars than I should as a learned lady. But there you have it; such is our world the way it exists today. So when I read a few rumors online recently about a potential rivalry between sisters Jana and Jessa Duggar, obviously I had to investigate.
In Touch Weekly recently shared an article looking at the relationship between Jana Duggar and Jessa Seewald, two of the Duggar sisters from TLC's Counting On. Fans of the show already know that Jana is two years older than her married sister Jessa, who is also a mother of two little boys (2-year-old Spurgeon and 1-year-old Henry). But Jana remains unmarried, which is a major topic of conversation in the world of the Duggars. They appear to like their kids, daughters in particular, to be married off young so they can start to get on the whole business of being fruitful and multiplying. Not to mention the fact that unmarried Duggars aren't allowed to have social media accounts, which makes the near-constant self promotion of the Duggar family more difficult.
Apparently, the two Duggar sisters had something of a contentious relationship as little girls. In the book the girls wrote together with their sister Jinger, Growing Up Duggar, Jana recounts a story about how 6-year-old Jessa would incessantly kick her bed and whisper, "That bother you up there, Jana?" while 8-year-old Jana would pray to find the strength to forgive her sister. She also admitted that Jessa was "tirelessly consistent with her aggravating ways," which sounds like pretty much every 6-year-old kid on the planet, if you ask me.
Beyond that, however, fans have apparently wondered about the nature of their sibling rivalry as adult women, taking to Reddit to speculate. Jana continues to live at home as a 26-year-old woman, helping to raise the younger Duggar siblings as the family-appointed "baby whisperer." In fact, when Jessa had Spurgeon in 2015, Jana was called upon to do home repairs and watch the baby while her sister napped. Talk about stepping up to the proverbial plate as an aunt, right?
But here is what I don't love: when people pit women against each other. Especially when those women are sisters. So Jessa is a mother and Jana is single, why do we always have to assume that a single woman would be terribly jealous of her married sister, because the only path a woman might want to travel is that of marriage and motherhood? By all accounts, Jana is an incredibly accomplished woman. And her sister Jessa took to Instagram over the weekend to share the literal fruits of Jana's labor.
Jessa shared a video of her sister working in her gorgeous garden as Spurgeon looked on, and went on to share pictures of the truly beautiful oasis Jana has created complete with fruits, vegetables, twinkle lights, and even a little wading pool for some ducklings.
Whether or not Jessa shared these photos to dispel rumors of a rivalry between herself and Jana is anyone's guess, of course, but here's my two cents: I think they're both living their best lives. Maybe Jana is pretty happy with her life and isn't terribly concerned about getting married right now. Or ever, actually. She might choose not to get married and then steal away the Duggar Rebel Award from pants-wearing sister Jinger Vuolo. Maybe Jessa is happy with her own life and her relationship with her sister. Maybe neither of them is eaten away with envy, and they can just appreciate each other for the women they are right now.
Stranger things have happened, guys.
