The Halupnik family like other families throughout Stapleton has tried to make the most of this situation and has tried to keep busy. “Anytime we have an opportunity to get outside, we do that so that we can kill some time, obviously,” says mother Susana. “We have definitely had some challenging weather days, so we have to become creative during those times.” Husband Mark acknowledges the challenges of getting through each day and each week. “We for sure have allowed more screen time than we have previously. But, we are still conscience of it, and we cut it off to make sure the kids are being as productive as they can in this ridiculously crappy time.” The Halupniks have a 10 year old son and an 8 year old daughter.
When the kids aren’t doing schoolwork or getting screen time, they will sometimes play peacefully together. “Sometimes it’s great,” says Susana. “They will draw together or make up some fun thing to do together in the basement with toys they hardly ever play with. But, like most siblings, they definitely get in some fights.” One of the family activities the kids will do is play card or board games. “It is something to do together as a family that doesn’t involve computers or TV’s,” said Mark. “It can be a lot of fun, but of course, there can also be blow ups.” Last Thursday one of those ‘blow ups’ happened as the Halupnik family was playing Monopoly Junior. “Regular Monopoly can be frustrating for adults to emotionally handle,” said Susana. “The kids version is less complicated, but with kids, things are added in such as who gets to be the banker, who gets what piece, smack talk, and even dice rolling can cause stress between young siblings.” During a typical family board game there are usually more than four fights. What set the record was that the family tried to play the game four different times during the day. “One of the kids would get mad, throw a fit, and quit,” said Mark. “Later in the same day they would want to play again guaranteeing there wouldn’t be a fight. Well, that didn’t happen, and then repeat. We started and quit that game four times.” Mark says the record is nothing to be proud of. “Honestly, I didn’t even know it was a record until a friend told me I should look in to it. But, the reality is, with at least 10 more days of full lockdown, I’m guessing that record will be broken and the Halupnik name will be removed from the books.”