Green Button

How many times have you been in a checkout line and heard the phrase, "green button?" Even if we pay for our purchases with cash, we probably hear the cashier say it to the people ahead of us in line.

The other day I commented to a checker on the amount of exercise she must get by moving thousands of things from one side of the cash register to the other. "Yes," she replied, "it is a lot of exercise, but not where it's needed."

"Don't you also do a lot of bending and squatting when you do things like stock shelves?" I asked.

She patted her tummy and told me that was the place where she needed the exercise. As I paid for the things I'd bought I suggested that if she did one tummy squeeze every time she said the words, "green button," she'd get plenty of exercise in that part of her anatomy.

While unloading the groceries at home it occurred to me that I could do the same thing. While I don't say, "green button" hundreds of times every working day, I do hear it often and can use it as a reminder to exercise my own abdominal muscles, which certainly need it. And that sort of exercise can easily be done whenever I'm standing in a line, waiting for something to load on my computer, or in any situation where I must wait for something. From now on, I'll try to remember to do that.

I hope my belly button doesn't turn green. ;-)