The Unexpected Lesson I Learned From a Cord in My Backyard

I stepped outside one quiet morning hoping to enjoy a few minutes on the patio, the kind of simple pause that feels especially welcome as the years go by. But before I could settle into that calm, something in the yard caught my eye.

Stretching across the grass, bright as a traffic cone against the dew, was an orange extension cord. It snaked from my neighbor’s garage across the property line and ended squarely in the outlet on the back wall of my house. For a moment I simply stared at it, unsure whether to laugh, sigh, or go knock on their door.

My first thought was that it had to be a mistake. Maybe they were working on a project, lost track of the cord, and intended to move it later. We’d always had a pleasant relationship, the sort of polite friendliness that makes daily life smoother.

Still, the more I followed that bright trail of plastic insulation, the more obvious it became that this was not accidental. Someone had plugged into my power without asking.

I felt a flicker of irritation but also a sense of confusion. Why hadn’t they simply asked? A short conversation could have prevented the awkwardness entirely.