A Change in Perspective

“No, no, no! That’s not right. There should be one, two and then three,” my Aunt Ruth whined.

It was my tenth try at adjusting the miniblinds on her sun porch. Aunt Ruth sat in her favorite chair facing the windows with a view down the street that ended in a glimpse of the ocean. As her dementia progressed, she would get unsettled as it started getting dark outside. The doctor said this condition is called “sundowning” and that it’s common in dementia patients.

Trying to adjust the miniblinds to the “one, then two, then three” specifications had Aunt Ruth in tears for a week. One night I knelt beside her chair to comfort her. We gazed out the window together at the row of cottages leading down to the water.

“You see, there’s one, and there should be two and three,” she said.

I looked out the window from her vantage point and noticed the lights on the three cottages across the street. One had the lights on, but the other two did not. Suddenly, I understood. “Do you want all three porch lights to be on?”

“Yes, exactly!” she yelled, looking relieved.

Turns out it hadn’t been the miniblinds she was upset about after all.