My boy is coming out later this month. That's my brother right there. There's a lot of history behind this bond, and his mom was one of the most critical figures of my life, may she rest in peace. They're family. His sister and I have been close friends since 8th grade and his mom knew me way back when I was a toddler. He and I bonded the day we met, right after Like Water For Chocolate dropped, and that album was the subject of our first conversation. We've been brothers from that moment.

I love him like few others in this world.

Thing is.. he announced that he's coming in on a Thursday night, going back on Sunday, and that he needs me to help him get around to get his drivers license, pickup a birth certificate, visit his mom's grave, hit up a strip club, he wants to get high and drunk (sic), not sleep, take my kids to the beach, and hit up some restaurant in LA with my kids. He says it's time to turn up, and he's given me two weeks to get it together.

Sorry, but I'm in my late thirties, and I don't turn up. I can count on one hand the number of nights I've spent outside of my home since my kids were born. Not to mention that he wants to spend the bulk of this time in Los Angeles.

All of this sounds and feels like a movie, where the beloved best friend shows up and turns life upside down for a weekend. We're close, but very different. He still wants to party. He's been in and out the pen.

I've tried to put things in perspective but he's a little bullish, and for the first time ever, I feel like I need to tell him he needs to chill. Fall back. He wants to come out, I'll run him to do his errands, but lets chill and chop it up. Let's kick it and get a cypher going. Maybe record some shit. Get down on some NBA 2K like we did Live back in the day.

Hell, we can hit the club, whatever. But he's trying to cram a week's visit into two days with some exhausting logistics spanning three cities, and I need him to relax. I'd be excited to see him if he fell back by about 50%, but as it stands I'm not looking forward to that weekend at all.

I feel like a bad friend for that, but looking at this rationally, I don't think so. What say you?