The perfect 40th Birthday Gift

Published May 4th, 2008 in: Life

On April the 26th, I turned 40. Hurray!

Øystein Wika on his 40th birthday

I decided not to throw a party this time, and instead do what I love the most: Go alpine skiing. So, a couple of days before my birthday, I packed my bags and headed up into the mountains, to a place called Hemsedal.

Long story made short: I had a blast! Got two full days of perfect skiing conditions and warm (spring) weather. And yes - a little bit of sunshine too :)

Øystein Wika, giant-slalom competition in 1981

Now to the great surprise: This b/w picture! It was waiting for me when I got back to town. My mom found it among my late Grandfathers things. The picture was a small newspaper-clipping from 1981 that he had stuck inside a book about local sports activities. It accidentally fell out of the book again while my mom were going through his old stuff the other day. Funny thing, we never even knew the picture existed. Moreover, although I competed in slalom for at least 10 years - I haven't got one single picture from that time.

Having found the picture among my Grandfathers things, my mom and dad immediately contacted the local newspaper, and low and behold, they actually managed to find the original. And so they had it framed, and sent for my birthday. Next after the book "Ego", by Erik Håker, this is the best birthday gift I've ever got.

Thanks mom and dad! And a very special thanks to my late granddad :)

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