Dr. and Mrs....

Okay, I've just been to my first "Champagne Brunch". I assumed, based on the name, that we would be drinking champagne. I also assumed that since we were going to a doctor's house it would be pretty nice. I well underestimated the elegance of the function we were attending. As we drove down their half-mile driveway we passed a sign that said, "Valet parking at the door." We laughed and thought, "What a good joke." Then we watched the person in front of us pull up the hill to the front door of a MANSION and proceed to hand their keys to none other than the valet service!!! We decided we were too low class for that and we didn't want to get spoiled, so we parked our own car and walked.

As I said earlier, I assumed we would be drinking champagne. Once I saw the house I thought for sure it had to be Crystal. What I didn't assume was that there would be every liquor known to man, as well as several beers, available for our consumption. Now I know the rule of drinking before noon...but I didn't realize that when noon hit, everything was fair game. I sampled both the eggnog and the strawberry champagne, both of which had enough liquor in them to make me forget my name 'til next Tuesday. WOW! I took a sip of both beverages and then proceeded to drink Coke. When I asked the bartender for something without alcohol he judged me with his eyes. JUDGED ME for asking for something without booze in it.

As we snooped our way around the house (with the owners permission) both Kendall and myself were in awe. The house boasted tin ceilings, a private office with wood paneled walls and a floor to ceiling bookcase that dominated one entire side of the room. There was a curled staircase with a beautiful banister and enough windows on the place to give the housekeeping a migraine. While their decorating sense was not to my taste, I did enjoy the overall structure of the house and commented to Kendall that he needed to become an orthopedic surgeon.

The food was a catered ordeal and included filet mignon, a very delicious French toast made from croissants, some strange looking eggplant dish and "potato puff with bacon and eggs". There was an entire buffet of desserts and a wide assortment of wines and juices. After consuming my portion I was then in a food coma.

I think the most distinctive portion of the afternoon was the realization on both of our parts that we are not quite ready for the world into which we are about to enter. While we will be at the "low end" of the pay scale for a physician and their spouse (only in the low 6 figures), we were not quite prepared for the elbow rubbing and lifestyle that we are about to encounter. At one point, when the server brought us an array of desserts to sample, I commented that we didn't need our own plates because we were "sitting at the kids table". This happened to produce a great bit of laughter from the other physicians sitting around us. All in all, I think that we both need a bit more time and a few more glasses of champagne before either of us truly starts to believe that we are Dr. and Mrs. Kendall and Lisa Erdahl.