I was in a cab on the way to LaGuardia Airport to head to Chicago last Friday, and I called my friend Dee to tell her that I was going on vacation and I would call her when I got back. Her response to me was, "This is not a vacation, it is just a weekend." While I love Dee and think the world of her as a friend - I have to publicly tell her that she was wrong - because my trip to Chicago was so much more than just a weekend.

In the three days and three nights that I spent in Chicago, I discovered that I can do the whole "parent" thing - right down to changing diapers. I realized what "real, true friends" are in Dan and Kandice - and I discovered that you can actually love someone without having to endure ridicule, insults - or drama.

I remember getting to Dan and Kandice's house on Friday night, which was a different place then the one I stayed at when I went to Chicago last year because they moved. I remember getting that, "I'm in a strange place feeling" the first few minutes after I got there - and feeling right at home before the sun rose the next morning - and for the rest of the weekend. I also remember saying goodbye to Mary, and then Dan, Kandice and their whole family - because they had to leave for a reunion of Dan's old band. And realizing that I was the last one to leave Chicago - and I was left in their house - all alone.

After I said goodbye to Mary, I went back into the house, to spend an hour alone there before I left. As I looked around this empty house, which just a few hours ago was filled with friends, children - and lovers - I realized that so much happened in this house in the four days that I was there - and the events that took place there might just have a profound impact on the rest of my life.

I literally sat there remembering so many things that I did over that amazing weekend. I remembered how I ran into Cole's room when I heard him wake up - and how I instantly got him a bottle and changed his diaper without a moment's hesitation. I remembered how Kandice and I drove to meet a friend and had a heart to heart about how much we love each other and how happy we are to have each other back in our lives after both of us went through such a hard few months. I also remembered how Mary and I acted like we were dating for years - and how Kandice's friend Wanda referred to her as my wife. So many life changing events - in just four days.

When I got home, I walked into my home - and felt like an entirely different person. I actually felt older - not physically - but mentally. I felt like I aged decades in just 96 hours. I felt more mature, more responsible - and wiser. I felt like I matured and saw that there are more important things in life then work, home and parties. That life was more broad a picture than I had painted - and that despite all I had done in my life - I had so much more ahead of me - and that I couldn't wait for the rest of my life.