During the first chapter of Jonathan Safron Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly, the main character Oskar Schell discusses a game that he and his dad used to play together, named Reconnaissance Expedition. He describes how the game was played and tells the reader that the last one they ever played took place in Central Park and was never finished.

While reading this a great childhood memory popped into my head. At least once a week my family would get together and my parents would conduct various games such as monopoly, Risk and Stratego. These games gave us a time to bond and talk about eachothers’ days and all of the things we’ve been up to. I specifically remember that one night my parents came to my siblings and me and told us that tonight we would be having a scavenger hunt. Around the house they hid various items and clues and each clue led us to another until we reached the final stage of the hunt.

I was never so good at all of these games and I never really one on family game night. I was determined to take this one home and finally win my first game. Like Oskar, I was infatuated by the game, digging for clues and running around the house looking for things that would help me get one step closer to the finish line. However, in the end my hard work did not pay off and I came in second place behind my older Sister.

At first, I was very upset and couldn’t believe that even after all the work I put in I still didn’t win. However, my frustration soon turned to delight when I saw the look on my parents’ faces. They were so happy that we were bonding as a family and there smiles were contagious. Soon after, my entire family was laughing and joking around. At that moment I realized that these games were what kept my family close together and I am extremely thankful to my parents for that opportunity.