Behind the scenes: The making of a poem

I was given a commission to write a little rhyme for an invitation to an office secretary's retirement party.  I thought it might be fun to post the info I was given and show a line-by-line process of constructing the poem.  This is what I was told:

The woman's name is Peggy Abruzzi.
She's had 34 years of federal service.
She hates the winter commute to the office.
She doesn't want to make a big deal about her retirement, just wants her friends and colleagues around her.

So where to begin?  Well, I thought the best place to start would be her name.  What rhymes with Abruzzi?  All I could think of was "cutesy."  That gives an idea for the first line.  Let's try this out:

For fear of writing something too cutesy,
you're invited to celebrate Peggy Abruzzi.

But that doesn't really make sense and it sounds a little Hallmark-y.  How about this:

At the risk of writing something too cutesy,
let's take a moment to salute Peggy Abruzzi.

All right.  Suddenly I stop and think I'm really kind of crap at this sort of thing.  I think it's going to be a long road to the finish.  I don't know the first thing about federal service- not even what rhymes with it.  I can't very well say she's been nervous all these years.  Hmm.  A flash of inspiration.  What if I flip the words around?  Like this:

She's spent 34 years federally serving

That works.  And then I can rhyme "serving" with "deserving."  That sounds like appropriate retirement party talk.

She's spent 34 years federally serving,
and we can't think of anyone more deserving

Great!  Now I'm encouraged.  I have a direction to follow.  What is she deserving of?

to be surrounded by colleagues and friends
on the day her _____ service ends.

I know that I want a word to describe what kind excellent work she's put in and also that she's appreciated.  Something like "valued service," but that sounds like a sale at a supermarket.  I go to the thesaurus and look at words that can substitute for "valued."  How about "esteemed"?  That conveys respect and high regard.

to be surrounded by colleagues and friends
on the day her esteemed service ends.

Now I just need to get some info in there about when this shindig will be held.  That's basic party invitation phrasing (I don't know the exact date, so I'll leave that for the person who requested the poem to fill in):

So on December ____, stop by, wish her well.

This is a useful line for two reasons.  First, it moves things along and gets the point across.  Second, it ends with the word "well," which should be easy to rhyme.  Some possibilities:  swell, gel, tell.  I don't want to lapse into '50s slang, and I'm not familiar with Peggy's hair gel rituals, so I latch onto "tell."  This might require some fancy maneuvering of phrases.  I know I have one last piece of information I want to deliver, which is that Peggy hates the winter commute.  What I want to say in these last couple lines is that there's a silver lining to her retirement.  She'll avoid the winter commute from now on.  But how to put that in a sentence that rhymes with "well"?

So on December ____, stop by, wish her well.
We'll miss her, but there's one bright side to tell

Eh, it's a little clunky but let's see how it plays out.  Two more lines and I just need a word that rhymes with "commute."  Aha:

as we give her a final salute,
here's to her last winter commute!

Not ideal, since we've already used "salute" in the second line, but let's put the whole thing together and check the flow, yo.

At the risk of writing something too cutesy,
let's take a moment to salute Peggy Abruzzi.
She's spent 34 years federally serving,
and we can't think of anyone more deserving
to be surrounded by colleagues and friends
on the day her esteemed service ends.
So on December ____, stop by, wish her well.
We'll miss her, but there's one bright side to tell
as we give her a final salute,
here's to her last winter commute!

Hey, it's not terrible.  All in all it took less than half an hour, and with a little polish it will serve its purpose of making Peggy Abruzzi feel special.