When I stepped into my backyard last week, something unusual caught my eye. An extension cord ran straight from my neighbor’s garage into the outlet on the back of my house. At first, I thought it had to be a mistake, maybe something temporary. But when I followed the cord, it was clear he had plugged into my power without asking. I felt surprised more than anything—mostly because we’d always been friendly.
I approached him later that day and gently explained, “That electricity runs through my meter.” He laughed it off and said it was “only pennies,” as if that made it harmless. I didn’t want an argument, but I also wanted to set a boundary. So I installed a small lockable cover over the outlet, hoping that would be the end of it. It felt like a reasonable solution that kept things polite.
The next morning, I noticed a folded note pushed through my letterbox. My stomach tightened—not out of fear, but out of concern for what it might say. Inside, my neighbor had written that he was embarrassed and didn’t realize it mattered that much. He admitted he should have asked first and said he hoped we could move past it. The honesty in his words surprised me in the best way.
Later that afternoon, I walked over to thank him for the note. We talked for a while, clearing the air in a calm and respectful way. It turned out he had been going through some small home repairs and acted without thinking. By the end of our conversation, we both understood each other better. Sometimes, even small misunderstandings can teach us the value of communication. And just like that, the extension cord situation turned into a chance to strengthen neighborly goodwill instead of divide it.