Opportunity versus difficulty

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Winston Churchill.

Have you ever stopped to notice whether you viewed a difficulty as an opportunity or an opportunity as a difficulty?  For the past two weeks we have had a mouse in the house, and, I know, people say you never have just one mouse -- but I think we did.  It took me two weeks and four trips to the store for purchases to add to our mouse arsenal before I caught him.  Having a mouse in the house, which readily ran out even when we had guests, became quite a focus for me.  A lot of time and energy went into trying to figure out how to "out wit" the mouse.  He could take bait off the traps and leave them unsprung.  Amazing! 

Is having a mouse in the house a difficulty or an opportunity?   I clearly saw it as a difficulty while he was in the house, but having him in the house became an opportunity for me when I used it as to mouse-proof the exterior of our house.  A handyman spent several hours yesterday making sure all chips and nicks along the foundation were plugged.   So, one mouse created an opportunity for me to prevent other mice from coming in.

How can we make this situation of dementia be an opportunity for us instead of just a difficulty?