Can You Imagine Your Life as a Termite?

The time comes when we begin to think seriously about retirement. Or maybe you’ve been retired for a while and are thinking, “What’s next for me?” After moving to our new home at Paradise Valley Estates (everyone calls it PVE), we learned there are termites here!

This happened at dinner on our first evening at PVE when I noticed the gentleman across from me had a name badge with the word termite on it.

I cautiously asked, “Do you have termites in your building?”

“Oh yes” he said, “We have several. There’s Ed, Bill, Herb, Jack and maybe a few more.”

I was blown away. They even named their termites!

“Do you want to become a termite?” he asked me.

Seeing the blank look on my face, he asked if I was interested in woodworking. I was, but had gotten rid of all my tools and equipment when we moved to PVE. “A lot of the men and some of the women here enjoy woodworking,” he said. “We call ourselves Termites in honor of our fully equipped, resident-owned wood shop with every tool you could possibly need or imagine. I’ll show it to you after dinner.”

This I had to see. If you’re already a woodworking expert, this shop is for you to enjoy. If you’re a beginner, or pre-beginner, and would like to learn hands-on woodworking, the resident-termites will help you plan your job, teach you to how to use the tools and equipment, and bask with you in the glow of your successfully completed project.

You could make something simple like a Christmas ornament from a wooden hot sauce bottle-cap and a handful of golf tees, as I did for the PVE Christmas tree decorating contest.

Or maybe you want a spice rack, some custom bookshelves for your new home at PVE, a display case to show off a US flag, or some other project you’ve dreamed about doing.

So, when you imagine the rest of your life, perhaps you can reimagine it as a PVE Termite!