With the holidays around the corner, and before the stress and panic really hit, make this a time to look at your relationship and take inventory to see what’s working and what isn’t. Begin to nurture your marriage now, in new and more effective ways so that the holidays can be a time of closeness and connection, rather than fighting and resentment.

What are the issues that are bothersome—the ones you’ve shoved under the rug? What are the issues that don’t really work in your marriage, but aren’t that bad? What are the fights that cause pain and frustration that keep on recurring with no resolution?