Getting Cheesy

So I thought this would be another update
Of all the nice things that have happened of late
But suddenly it hit me and I said, “Good idea.”
Since I love all you people and I rarely see ya
I could make a list of things I think are just great
Some things I’ve recently learned to appreciate
All the things that I think make my life right
And maybe, just maybe, you’d grab a highlight
Of the similar things that make your life neater
And I’d do it in December, at the end of the year
Christmas letters, resolutions all at the same time
And of course, you have noticed, it should have to rhyme
But then, it totally struck me, this can’t bear to wait
We’ve recently realized we must communicate
How we feel for those people who we feel we’ve won
And that, my dear friends, is amazing thing #1.

First, the no-contest winners, my mom and my dad
I take them for granted, but they are so rad
And you’ve met them, or you will, because these things most often
Occur with good friends not likely forgotten
And it’s also most likely you’ve had a hug from Miss Donna
Or combated the wits of Tom the Feisty Piranha
Or watched them be honestly, truly in love
There isn’t much anything I’d rather think of
Than my home where I always felt safe and sheltered and silly
And that feeling I took out into the world, really,
There’s nothing they don’t believe I can do
And just think of the crap that I’ve put them through
Which reminds me of a quote that I often forget
“What are regrets? Just lessons we haven’t learned yet.”
That’s by a chick singer I like named Beth Orton
And that reminds me of the next things I find so important

It’d have to be Bethy and little Luke Sky
For having the perfect movie quote to reply
When I pull out the obscure, like Adventures in Babysitting
“Like Spaghetti-O’s with meat,” if you know where I’m getting
Eating Mac’n’Cheese at the island on those Saturday nights
Between our various “chase you with the steak-knife fights”
When going out seemed pretty good but staying was better
And besides, we’re all nuts for that neon orange cheddar

And speaking of nuts and of movies you’ve seen
(Well, I was trying to keep the poem clean)
A shout out to the guys that have allowed me in
To the boys club as the member most feminine
I admire the intelligence and the great genuinity
And for knowing just when to make me feel pretty
And while we’re talking pretty, you should see my hot friends
(The boys were only first because that’s how it fit in)
Because all of those girl friends are right at the top
Even though I seem far away to most that I’ve got
And it’s mostly a phone call that we take to the heart
To realize we’re much more together than apart
Is this getting cheesy? I don’t mean it to be
But the reference to Kraft was much too easy

And the next group of honors will certainly go
To the people in this town I’ve gotten to know
Who taught me to preface the highways with “the”
And took me out for margs in Old Pasadena
And just understood what it feels like to arrive
In a city where you’ll get there, but you gotta enjoy the drive
Which I hope that I’m doing, enjoying myself,
But it’s hard when you realize who you know best is yourself
And the trick is to let others know the real you
You’d think in L.A. that’d be a hard thing to do
But I’ve been so lucky in those I’ve encountered
Some are cheesy as pizza, but my friends are grounded

I’m on a roll now and there’s no end in sight
I love rambling incessantly about my newfound insight
All the people who’ve helped me, you know who you are
I hope that I’ve done all I can for you this far
And how relevant is this, when we all feel the need
To give something to someone in whom we believe
When we ask what to do from 3000 miles away
I figured out a way to do something each day:
Just make sure to be the most gracious you’re able
Especially to the girl who turns drinks to your table
And the man who makes jokes in line at the grocery
When you’re waiting for price checks on crackers and brie
And that’s all, that’s it, and it’s cheesy one more,
But I tell you, I get more than what I ask for
And maybe, just maybe, I make a new friend
By simply remembering to flash them a grin
There are so many of these simple things that I’ve learned
Being out on my own with my own tables turned
But you guys know this, too, or you wouldn’t be reading
This poem I’m sending to those I’ve had the absolute pleasure of meeting

You know, I thought there were more things, but I think that’s just it
Just believe in your own self and the people that trust it
And I realized this year, and mostly just now
That I can handle anything and not have a cow
Because I see the goodness in you all that abounds
“And I thank the Lord for the people I have found”
That’s Sir Elton John who wrote that last line
If we’d all just be him, this world would be fine
Generous, passionate, not afraid to wear pink
Not worrying about the future or what others think
Remembering that singing is really all we need
And cheesy disco fashions from the seventies
There I go again, but you knew that from the get-go
My middle name might be “Cheesy” for all that you know
No! It’s Marie, you didn’t know that, you poser?
Ah, how nice that this poem has brought us much closer

So for any of you worried that I’m so far away
Concerned that I might not be doing okay
I assure you, I promise that I am so elated
I’m working at a place where I’m appreciated
I have so many friends, I love the endless sun
I go on fun trips and I write long poems
Which I promise will never be this long again
I just realized I had to thank all of my friends
For getting me here, for where I am today
The same Dancin’ Queen out here in L.A.