3 distinct personalities

Will knew what to expect going into school this year having been down at St. Dominic's for a semester. He also has been in umpteen Scout troops, comfortable being the new kid almost every year and practically jumped out of the car at camp, so eager to be with 100 other boys, despite not knowing a soul. Maggie is my theatrical diva, so outgoing and flamboyant that I wonder some days if she really is the child of two introverted parents, but since she looks just like me and the other girls, I have to assume there was no switching of babies at the hospital. 

Mary is much more beautiful than I ever was, but personality-wise she is almost my exact replica, a little shy and needing to recharge her batteries by reading and being alone for small periods during the day. She does enjoy school and seems to have made many friends as well as impressing her math teacher with her wry sense of humor. However, being "on stage" for 7+ hours a day really takes its toll on her.

Yesterday she was practically vicious when she got into the car because of this pent up stress. She was rude to me, mean to her sister, and when I pulled the car over and told her to apologize, she wasn't sincere in the least bit. I informed her that soccer practice was not going to happen due to her horrid attitude and after arriving home I had to practically stand over her with a stick to make her practice the piano for the required 45 minutes. After she had a short calm down I came up to her room and told her that I understood her feelings, but that it was not acceptable for her to be horrid to us just because we are her family and "have" to take it. We hugged several times and she was pleasant and calm for the rest of the evening. 

She has undertaken a huge transition in her life at a very dramatic point in her development, puberty is fraught with emotional upheaval already, but adding in going to school for the first time didn't help, I'm surprised she hasn't been worse. I can't promise that this afternoon won't be a repeat of yesterday, but at least she knows that her mother understands and will try to give her a little quiet time each day to recover.