Happiness anticipated

I have read in the press lately what I have long known to be true for myself, that the anticipation of something that makes you happy is as good as the actual event. So these are my reasons for booking a holiday as long in advance as I can:

1. I get the early booking discount.
2. I get first dibs on the date before my X gets his bid in.
3. I can motivate myself with “you’re getting fit for the holiday” (it works sometimes) for as long as possible.
4. I get full value for money from the “anticipation of happiness” that comes free with every purchase, including for me the anticipation of creating some more wonderful shared memories to replace the redundant ones that it still hurts sometimes to think about.