Double Secret Probation

For the last 10 days or so, I’ve been hearing this countdown at least once a day.
It goes something like this: “9 more days until my birthday!”
Or, “you know what happens in 4 days? It’s my birthday!”
And, “it’s…my…birthday…in…two…days!”
(That last one sounds better if you sing it)
Well, the countdown has been leading up to tomorrow, August 8th, which is my wife Anne’s birthday. We look forward to her birthday each year because we always take the family camping for a couple of days…and we don’t have to hear the countdown.
Well, that’s not entirely true…we’ll hear “Only 364 more days until my birthday!” At least once.
So today is the day that we leave for the magnificent and storied Great Outdoors. I won’t have time to write again until next week.
In honor of my wife’s birthday, I offer the following Thought For Today, which perfectly describes our life together:

“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
-Frost

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95 thoughts on “Double Secret Probation”

  1. Wow, the whole family has birthday at once in your place. Anne seems like a wonderful person, and I wish her the best.

  3. Again, my timing has brought me to your page just as you post your plans — and wonderful plans they are!
    Have a wonderful trip, happy birthday to your wife, and I *still” want to hear about Chicago and the Cubs!

  5. Oh I knew I liked Anne for some reason…. we share birthdays. 27 tomorrow and I am looking forward to a nice dinner and homemade ice cream. Have fun camping DON”T FORGET THE BUG SPRAY!!!!

  6. Happy Birthday Anne!!!!!!!
    I hope you guys have a great and relaxing time on your camping trip.
    P.S. that is one of my favorite pieces by Frost.
    Nice Choice! 🙂

  7. Happy Birthday Anne & Rob! I too have my birthday tommorow. Happy Birthday to us all!
    1 more day till y birthday… *does a happy dance*

  9. All these birthdays in your family in such a short time span… it’s like one non-stop party.
    Warm birthday wishes to Anne.

  10. You are all LEO’S!!
    BUNCH OF COOL CAT’S THERE MR. WHEATON, SIR.
    AND FAMILY!!!
    Have a purrrrrfect time!(sorry couldn’t resist!)
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!

  11. Nooooooooooooooooooo!
    Don’t leave us!!!!
    🙁
    oh well as long as you promise to come back:). But don’t be surprised if your bandwith jumps again :D.
    Oh… and um, Happy Birthday to Anne.

  12. Happy Birthday to you both (belated to you, early for Anne).
    If you enjoy Frost and haven’t already read it, I suggest “Mending Wall”. There’s also one about an Ant, that I can’t recall the title of off the top of my head.
    Anyways, Be well. Have fun. 🙂
    Patrick

  13. Happy Birthday to Anne. Well, you guys certainly planned your birthdays well, you have them all in just a couple of weeks. Nice that they are in July and August so you can make all those wonderful summer memories together. And your brother getting married right before your birthday! You must have a non-stop grin on your face for weeks.
    And, let me be the first one to wish Nolan a Happy Birthday.

  15. Sounds like you’re having a great summer. Please give us a mega-post or two when all the excitement’s over, because there’s *so* much we’re still waiting to hear about!!
    Happy Birthday Anne.

  17. Wil,
    WOW! All those birthdays, thats alot of gift buying. I hope you all have fun camping..I will miss your posts while you are gone but will look foreward to hearing from you next week. Enjoy these last days of summer, as they are passing quickly. Happy Birthday to Anne. Whoa, almost forgot what did you do for her birthday to top all of her surprises for you? Nice writing buy Frost, I to took the road less travled by. Until next week..SniFF.. Have a G R E A T time.
    Matt……:)

  20. Wil,
    I can’t believe noone commented on the Double Secret Probabtion. You just saw Revenge of the Nerds, I bet.
    Happy Birthday to All! Anne, especially, since she threw a kick ass party for you AND got you tickets for the Cubs. If I ever get married, I hope I get a husband half as generous as Anne is to you.
    BTW, what’s up with G4 and Arena? We haven’t gotten it yet here in Manhattan. Oh, and I saw The Girls Room on Showtime this weekend. I love ya Wil, but you don’t really pull off the whole Southern thing. But it was good to see you in something. Take care and check for ticks.
    Patti

  21. Happy Birthday, Anne!
    Watch out for bears.
    And mountain lions.
    And mosquitos.
    And remember… leaves of three, let it be!

  25. i love the thought for today…because i read that in 8th grade for this poem unit we were studying! happy birthday anne! 🙂 🙂

  26. At any given time, I’d bet there are more than 26 people on this site, which Wil can easily confirm. The odds of someone in a group of that size reading this, and no one sharing a Birthday with the Wil, the Ms. Wil, or the StepWils is actually less than no one sharing a birthday.
    That being said, Happy Birthday to all 19,178,082.19 of us!

  27. Happy Birthday Anne.
    Hope the Wheaton’s enjoy some R&R in Mother Nature. Nothing like getting back to our true roots to feel at home on this rock we hurtle through the stars on.
    Enjoy the sunsets as you cannot see them in city, as realize, as the sun dips behind the horizon, that you are rolling away from the giver of warmth we call Father Sun.

  31. Thats fine, you only post once a week, if that, anyway. – And coincidentally, you never have time to talk about whatever latest and greatest even it was that was takin up so much time.

  33. Great poem you’ve selected there Wil. I’ve left a link to my poetry library for anyone that cares to check it out. Hope you have a great time on your birfday excursion. I’ll leave you with this thought…
    “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”
    ~Frost

  34. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!!!
    That is so cool because my dad’s birthday is tomorrow as well. He turns 50 tomorrow. My mom turned 50 on Saturday, so we have the whole “everyone’s birthday at once” thing going on in our family too. Well, Happy Birthday again, and you guys have a wonderful and safe camping trip!

  36. have a verry merry birthday ANNE!! =) i’m sure Wil’s gonna give you something cool!!
    …and an early happy birthday to Nolan too!! 🙂

  37. Happy birthday Anne! And to all you lot with birthdays close together, Wil and Ryan and Anne have a great week!!! (Isn’t it the pits though as presents are so close together!)
    And lets not forget a vert happy unbirthday to Nolan.

  39. hi wil. i’m a long time reader but first time poster. i don’t know why i haven’t posted before.. i guess i’m shy? well i did have a crush on you when you were on star trek:tng..
    ANYWHO, i just wanted to say happy birthday to everyone and i can’t believe you have a family full of leos! that must be one fun and loud house. i’m a leo too and i know all lions like to make wise cracks and be the center of attention. dinner at your house must be like a night at an improv show. have fun camping and don’t let the blair witch get you ^_~
    wendy

  41. You bet your booties it’s Animal House, NYCPatti.
    I’m surprised the house hasn’t burst from the concentration of Leo Ego(tm) in the Wheaton household. I mean, damn.
    Then again, your family is possibly one of the coolest I can think of, so there you go.
    Hmm, to watch Enterprise… or Dirty Harry with Liam Neeson?
    Hmm. Dirty Harry. He is the Chosen One.

  43. They made a song out of that poem by Robert Frost i can still remember singing it at graduation.

  44. Wil,
    First, Happy birthday to your rose. Enjoy the clean smell of camping. The old band, calling themselves the birds, call birthdays a count-up.
    Lasser tag without time-limits. You both are younger than that now.
    F.G.

  46. Wow…you’re having a regular Birthday Extravaganza with your family.
    Hope you have a fun time camping. Don’t forget to extra batteries for the flashlights/other important tools.

  48. This countdown just reminded me of something:
    “Five to one against and falling…” she said, “four to one against
    and falling… three to one… two… one… probability factor of one to
    one… we have normality, I repeat we have normality.” She turned her
    microphone off – then turned it back on, with a slight smile and
    continued: “Anything you still can’t cope with is therefore your own
    problem. Please relax. You will be sent for soon.”
    I’m sorry for yet another Hichhikers guide refrence…

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