No. Do not imagine it nor ponder it. Go right to her and ask.
And in the long run, she needs to be coached to articulate without being asked every time (if that is the case with her).
Generally, when people start imagining how I feel about X, they are wrong over 50% of the time, which leads to an escalation of problems. Don't wonder how I feel. Ask me explicitly.
As for the wider discussion: The path to Hell is paved with good intentions. I struggled with this often until I read some negotiations books, all of which said "Don't give credit to someone who did something for you that was of no value to you, and signal to them that this is of no value so that they do not expect a concession from you as a result." For random one offs with random people, it's fine to appreciate their (totally wasteful) effort because you don't have to deal with it often. But in a long term relationship it becomes a currency and causes long term stress. Not only are these efforts creating problem for you (money wasted, time wasted, etc), in the long run the other party will expect credit for it, which will feel like an added insult to injury.
No. Do not imagine it nor ponder it. Go right to her and ask.
And in the long run, she needs to be coached to articulate without being asked every time (if that is the case with her).
Generally, when people start imagining how I feel about X, they are wrong over 50% of the time, which leads to an escalation of problems. Don't wonder how I feel. Ask me explicitly.
As for the wider discussion: The path to Hell is paved with good intentions. I struggled with this often until I read some negotiations books, all of which said "Don't give credit to someone who did something for you that was of no value to you, and signal to them that this is of no value so that they do not expect a concession from you as a result." For random one offs with random people, it's fine to appreciate their (totally wasteful) effort because you don't have to deal with it often. But in a long term relationship it becomes a currency and causes long term stress. Not only are these efforts creating problem for you (money wasted, time wasted, etc), in the long run the other party will expect credit for it, which will feel like an added insult to injury.