Yesterday, I was sitting at LaGuardia Airport waiting to board a plane to Chicago to see Dan and Kandice, and to be honest - I was a little nervous. It has been over a year since I saw them - and in that year I missed two major events in their lives that will never come again. I missed their son's (my Godson's) first birthday, as well as their wedding ceremony at which I was supposed to stand up for them. And while the reasons I missed both events were due to incalculable drama - it is still no excuse for not being at either event - which are landmarks in a couple's existence as they travel down the road of life. But when I got to the airport yesterday and then got to Kandice and Dan's house - it was as if I was here yesterday.

Despite missing those two events, and despite the fact that I went missing for a while and lost contact with them and everyone else - Dan and Kandice treated me like I was their best friend who lived next door. They are really true and honest friends who understood that while I was living through Hell - I was no good to anyone - and they accept that. Wow. What amazing friends they are.

That is how you define a friend. A friend is someone who looks beyond your immediate situation and sees through to the person you are. A true friend is someone who can understand when times are tough, and realize why "disappearing" is sometimes necessary. And a dear friend is someone who embraces you and welcomes you back to the land of the living after you have walked through the fiery pits of Hell. And that is exactly what Dan and Kandice are - real, true friends.

From watching movies on tape, to singing songs - to eating some of Kandice's amazing Gumbo - I had a week's worth of vacation last night in just a few hours. And the beauty part is that I still have three more days left in Chicago to spend with my good friends to get reacquainted with them - and myself again.