I am used to enjoying the lifestyle of being a farmer. Almost everything about me has changed since I became one, and I have enjoyed it that way, too. It's what I love doing, and I find joy in doing it. The joy of every farmer is seeing the animals feeding well and happy.
While I was still an undergraduate, I loved my lifestyle, too. The way I dressed to class for lectures was so cool. It wasn't that flashy, but at least I had some dress sense that made a lot of sense. And since it was school days, I didn't even have money to buy sachet water, not to mention soft drinks or beverages. I fetched tap water for drinking, and I was fine with it.
Since the very moment I was out of school and became a trainee, I had some extra funds on me. I have been saving up on one side and also trying to eat and drink well with the little money I had left on me. Most of the time, I get myself addicted to drinking energy drinks. I take Fearless drinks the most.
I don't know why I found joy in taking those drinks, I feel energized though. It became something I drank every day due to the tedious nature of the work I would be doing on the farm with my boss. I had fun doing them. As I washed the ponds I would sip some again before washing another pond till I emptied the bottle.
All of that was during the hot weather, but the time it was raining and Harmattan season I was done with training and established a small farm of my own. It was just in the backyard of my parent's house.
One day while I was seriously at work, Dad came to check up on me, he saw me with two bottles of energy drinks, and he had to call my attention to the way I took too much of those chilled drinks and the nature of my health too. He advised me to take something hot instead since I would be dipping my body in water almost every day and the season is not friendly for taking something cold.
I still took the energy drink for almost a week after that before I reconsidered.
The first time I tried to have coffee was with dad. I boiled the water for him and then he asked me to get two mugs alongside. I got mine and one for him too. Then he gave me two satchet of coffee powder. I stared at him in awe of what I was about to embark on. But I actually took the coffee that morning.
After taking it, I realized it was just something so perfect for my day. When hot it kept my body warm compared to chilled energy drinks and also got me actively working.
It became my daily routine especially when it was raining all day, I would take a full mug in the morning and evening before sleep. But on a normal day, I would just take a mug in the morning. Everything was fine and cool not until a strange incident happened.
You can only remember you missed out on something when you are in good condition, in a state of confusion you might not even remember anything.
One morning when I woke to a very sad experience, I went to check on the well-being of the fish as usual, drain their water, and then have a cup of coffee before the water finished draining. That morning was so different because I woke up to a heavy mortality. I lost more than half of the fish I stocked due to overcrowding. It wasn't easy for me at first. All I could think of was a solution to how I could reduce the mortality rate.
I got to the pond while draining the water and started hand-picking the dead fish away. I didn’t want a total loss, so I boiled them and mixed them with the feed I would give to the other fish I stocked without mortality. All of these took my day that even for two days after I never recovered from the shock and loss, I totally forgot there was a regular coffee routine I took daily. Not until the following week that I started taking it again.
HEADER & OTHER IMAGES: By [Me] From My Device Camera
