DEAR ABBY: I have been married for eight years, and my husband is a wonderful spouse when it comes to almost everything. My complaint may seem shallow, but please hear me out.
A couple of years back, he started buying me potted plants rather than cut flowers because "you get more for your money." He buys me plants three or four times a year, and after receiving the third one I asked him to please go back to cut flowers. I neither like house plants nor do I want something I must find a place for in our yard. Despite this, he continues to buy me potted plants every time. Each time he says he "forgot" I don't want them.
I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I am really frustrated. Today I received my 10th one. I suppose I seem like a jerk, but I really don't understand why he keeps buying me the one thing I asked him not to buy. Your thoughts? -- KATHY IN WASHINGTON
DEAR KATHY: You appear to have married a man who is not only practical, but also unimaginative when it comes to gift-buying. That he would continue to buy you something you have repeatedly told him you would prefer not to have seems the opposite of considerate to me. (On the other hand, many women would be glad that their spouse remembered any special occasion.)
Suggestion: The next time it happens, put HIM in charge of watering, replanting and caring for the plant, and things may change.