Dear Abby: What’s in a name? A meltdown from hubby

Dear Abby: My husband was annoyed and upset by a cricket in the house. He had used insect spray, but it was still chirping, so he asked me to take care of it. I told him I didn’t know how to get rid of a cricket, since we didn’t know where it was exactly. He was banging around the utility room. I called his name and asked him where he had sprayed — no answer. I asked again. No response. I then used his full name, and he got upset that I did! He said it was disrespectful and that I was “treating him like a child.”

I apologized if I had hurt his feelings, but he’s still upset with me because I don’t agree it was disrespectful. Am I wrong? IS it disrespectful to use your husband’s full name when trying to get his attention?

— Sad in Nevada

Dear Sad: It’s not disrespectful if you can’t get him to respond any other way. I don’t know what your husband’s relationship was with his mother. Perhaps she used his full name when he ignored her as he did to you when he was “playing cricket.”

The next time he tells you to take care of something you can’t handle, pick up the phone and hire a professional. That way you won’t have to inconvenience your husband.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at DearAbby.com.