The kids surprised the pants off me one morning this week. Everyone got up without argument, got dressed for school, and was ready to go out the door about 10 minutes early. I’ve become highly suspicious of my children when they coordinate behavior and achieve an outcome that makes me happy. These are the same kids who can’t manage to sit through a single meal without annoying each other with their breathing.

Sharing a bathroom has created the opportunity for at least two fights a day, one of which always occurs during the morning rush hour. Since everyone looked and smelled relatively clean, and I hadn’t had to fish anyone’s personal belongings out of the toilet, I was positive that something was up.

I found myself on that inevitable parenting tightrope. Is their behavior intentional and do I tip them off that I’m on to them and just ask them what they want, and then risk a monumental swing in the other direction when they realize they’re not getting it and add belligerence to their usual routine? Or, have I finally gotten through their thick little heads and they’ve gotten it together and realized that they’re going out the door to school one way or the other, and if they do it without pouting and fighting, we’re all happier?

Once they were all settled in the car and we were heading to school, I couldn’t hold out any longer. “OK, kids, what’s the deal,” I asked point blank. Since there were no shared furtive looks between them, I felt a little better that there was no conspiracy afoot. E, who has been struggling with a cold that isn’t bad enough to level her, but is enough to slow her down, came right to the point.

“The sooner we start this week, the sooner it’s over and we get a break.”

I was even more surprised when the other two chimed in. “Yeah, we only have to get up early two more days this week, and then it’s break,” said A.

G mumbled some kind of agreement. He had gotten himself up, dressed, fed, packed and went out to the car early and went back to sleep. This was a brilliant strategy, and I might have to encourage more of it, as well as stock up on breath mints because it’s amazing how quickly freshly brushed teeth can go south.

Even by our standards, it has been a jam-packed few months. We had all the usual craziness of back to school and the fall sports schedules. Things like A’s induction into Order of the Arrow for Boy Scouts, an extended band season, the boys’ foray into drama club, and G’s poultry acquisitions have added a new level of insanity to our lives.

Of course, I have a list a mile long of the things I need to accomplish over the “break” and, even though I have “vacation” scheduled, it’s just another sort of work that needs to get done.

After the three of them commiserated for a few minutes about how much they needed the upcoming break, they started to talk about all the different things they wanted to accomplish over break. Birthday parties, hunting and trapping expeditions, sleepovers with friends. Books to be read, Christmas solos for instruments to be conquered. E knows that the first day of hunting season for the boys is always our girls’ day out, so she was eagerly preparing her list of stores we had to visit and where she wanted to go for our special lunch.

Listening to their lists, I realized that some of their plans were going to interfere with the things I had planned for them: mainly, acting as my lackeys as I tackled more house projects. Additionally, it didn’t sound like their schedule left much room for sleep, which I know they all desperately need. When I pointed this out, I got my usual eye rolls. What I really wanted to know is how they expected to get the “break” they all knew they needed, when their plans were to be busier than ever.

“Mom, it’s just different,” said A. They know better than to expect a “just” or a “because” explanation to satisfy me, so he continued. “It’s that we’re doing something different. And, we don’t have all the requirements and deadlines hanging over us. That’s the real break.” I could see his point. I know I react differently when I’m up late catching up with an old friend on the phone as opposed to up late trying to finish some work because it’s overdue.

G added on. “Yeah, it’s more about the stuff we don’t have to do, than the stuff we want to do.” I had to argue back that his chicken collection was still going to need just as much attention, and he had a few chores to deal with that he’s been putting off because he didn’t have time to do them right.

“See, Mom, that’s exactly it. Now I get to spend more time taking care of the chickens, and that’s fun.”

As usual, my kids are smarter than I am. I’ve trained myself to look at everything as one big to-do list. Whether it’s work, kids’ activities, housework, projects, it all ends up on the “stuff I need to do” list. I need to have a list of stuff I “need” to do, stuff I “want” to do, and stuff I “get” to do. For the next few days, the “needs” have to get pushed aside for the “wants” and “gets.” Work is always going to be there, but by taking a break from it and focusing on a few of the other tasks I want to get done, and the things I will get to do with the kids over their break, I’ll be better able to focus on doing it well when I get back to it, and I won’t be holding on to the regrets about things I missed out on with the kids, or other items I didn’t get checked off my list.

Sometimes a change of pace or a different pace is all a person really needs to have a break. Our holiday is going to be jam-packed with things to do, but they’re fun things that we get to do together, and they’re things we want to do for our family. However it is you’re enjoying your “break,” I hope you and yours are having a very happy Thanksgiving.

Liz Pinkey is a contributing writer to the Times News. Her column appears weekly in our Saturday feature section.