Nothing could be more understated than the phrase "Just a housewife." At our house, at least, and I'm sure this is true of any woman who loves her home and takes pride in it.

For example, I'm a cookie lover, and she can whip up a variety that apparently the manufacturers can't afford to make. They're too tasty. But at times when I weaken and buy at the grocery, only to find the old time sweetness isn't there, she can come up with an icing that tops them perfectly.

She can be feeling there's "nothing to fix for dinner," yet one of our daughters and her youngster can drop in, and before we know it, there's a crisp salad and a colorful meal ready.

No one can make a better pie crust than she, yet when I brag on her with others present, it embarrasses her. I suppose because I'm saying that the other ladies can't match her.

And her pig pies! Don't ask me why they're called that. All she knows is that her Mom called them by that name, and so they remain "pig pies." They were called that before the term "pig out" came along. Shaped like a fried pie, or rolled, they only contain a cocoa, sugar and cream mixture, but if you like chocolate crispness, you'll like a pig pie. I've told her I should get out of my work to let her make the living just selling pig pies, and she dismisses my brag without a thought.

I decided one evening that I'd like some cornbread muffins, and a few minutes later, she had them ready...falling loosely out of the pan with a just-enough crunchy outer shell, and perfect inside. She had done it again, yet she said, "there are recipes...anyone can do it."

Very often you see lists of the many things which wives take care of...taxi service, baby sitter, grocery shopper, teacher, administrator, counselor, sympathizer, nurse...an endless list. They're right. She's all of these, and more.

And frequently you see someone's estimate of how much the caring wife is worth per month in dollars. It's true. She's worth it, whatever the figure. The fact is, there's no way to put a value on a good wife. It would be like pricing the only diamond in the world.

Yes, she's just a housewife. And those fellows in Florida are JUST ASTRONAUTS!

From the Bible..."Her price is far above rubies"  Proverbs 31:10