My thoughts on turning fifty, by Annmarie Miles

I am in the last few months of my forties. (I know, I know... and before you ask, I don't have a portrait in the attic). There are lots of fun things on the agenda next year, including a trip to America, 3 family weddings, a trip with my sisters, a London show, and a tour of Highclere Castle (the set of Downton Abbey). 

I hear so many writers say they have been writing since they were children. Next year it will be ten years since I started to take writing seriously. I had dabbled a little but when I hit forty, I knew it was time to take action. In that ten years, I've self published 3 books, written for a number of magazines and websites, in Ireland, UK and USA. As I think of the stories I have written, I'm aware that my own story is being written as the years have passed. The arc of my story has not gone as I expected. There have been plot twists galore and more inciting incidents than I'd have chosen. I can still say, I love my life, but I also know there is a wonderful denouement to come. :)

Another highlight of next year will be our Worth Our Weight in Gold (WOWIG) event. I'm so looking forward to spending the 3rd-5th of June with many ACW members. I can't wait to hear Adrian and Bridget Plass again, having heard them only once before, at Scargill. I have done Paul Kerensa's writing course, and I can tell you he's an entertaining and engaging speaker and teacher. I'm so looking forward to hearing him as he opens our first night. Anne Booth, Tony Collins, and the inspiring Jonathan Bryan will also be speaking. It's going to be a fabulous weekend and we are a blessed group to have such wonderful speakers within our ACW family.

As I look ahead to my year of jubilee, I'm already aware the aging process brings with it creaking bones, grey hair and crow's feet. But it also brings with it experience, maturity and an ever growing circle of friends and family. Getting to fifty is a big deal, and I intend to celebrate it with gusto. 

I hope as many of you as possible can come to celebrate ACW's 50th birthday, at the Worth Our Weight in Gold weekend, or even just for the Saturday. But if you can't, I hope that you feel part of the celebrations. Whether you've been involved with ACW for twenty years or twenty weeks, you are part of the organisation's fifty year journey. We are all part of the story, all part of the tapestry that God has woven over five decades. Getting to fifty is a big deal. I can't wait to for the party! 

Annmarie Miles is from Dublin, Ireland.
She lives with her husband Richard who is a pastor in the Eastern Valley of Gwent, in South Wales.
She writes short stories, magazine articles, devotional pieces for Christian radio, and blogs about her faith at www.auntyamo.com She is a lover of all things social media and offers help, in the guise of Sunflower Tech Wales to beginners who want to get started. You can find out about her fiction and her podcast, Words, Wobbles and Wisdom, here.