Why am I training for RKC?

I've been wanting to write this post for a while, but when I sit down to do it, something else always seems to come up. Probably because this will be tough for me to write.
I've been trying to sort out just why I am training for Dragon Door's Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC, read about the certification requirements here: RKC). It's a personal goal of mine for 2012, but I've never really been a goal setter.
That's not to say I haven't undergone some lofty tasks in my life. 5 years ago, I started a successful personal chef business. At the time, it was a huge undertaking. I had no doubt in my mind that I would be successful, and I was. But where I am concerned, I've never been one to really challenge myself, or hold myself to a higher standard.

Over the past year however, I've challenged myself to starting, doing and finishing some fast and hard challenges, including Dragon Door's Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification, TRX Team Certification, Josh Hillis's 21 Day Kettlebell Swing Challenge, Robb Wolf's 30 Day Paleo Transformation and Balanced Bites 21 Day Sugar Detox.  So, why? Why do these challenges?

Because I have absolutely NO control over a damn thing in my life other than my food and my fitness. And through these challenges, I have found a way to ground myself, to get control and to get a feeling of support from others who are in some way involved with the challenges. See, my son, Max, almost 10, has a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome/ADHD, and things concerning him are ROUGH. And unfortunately, Max encompasses EVERY aspect of my life other than food and fitness.

The past 2 years have been so challenging, I don't know if I can even put it into words. In fact, I know I can't even begin to explain what I've been through to make you understand the enormity of what I live with. Max is an explosive child and can go off at any moment. Family life is hard and not happy most of the time. We are limited to what we can achieve as a family because Max dictates what we can do. Plans can get derailed in an instant. Physicality is a normal part of my every day. Calls from school are a daily occurrence.
School has been unsuccessful for him and we are now in a battle to get him the education he rightly deserves and needs. But right now, I'm not even sure that "school" is right for Max. He was hospitalized in February for a short period of time. We are now trying to determine what type of placement he needs. The fact that my gut instinct jumps around from day to day, minute to minute even, is unsettling. That is a entire other subject, but just another example of something I can not control. Having to take on the school system to get what your child rightly deserves is exhausting.

It's isolating and I feel out of control most of the time.
It is so hard.

Through these goals I have set for myself and completed, I have been rewarded with the feeling of support, control and success, something that is lacking for me on a daily basis where family life and being a mom is concerned. So that brings me to RKC, a HUGE goal for myself. In a time where I struggle on a daily basis, I have found something that brings me joy, happiness, that is a hugely rewarding yet even more hugely challenging physically and mentally, something that gives me strength and that something is training with kettlebells. On Sept 11, 2011, I did my Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification (HKC), Dragon Door's entry level kettlebell certification. I was introduced to an amazing community of like minded fitness people. At that point I decided to take it to the next level, RKC and haven't looked back. The support has been fantastic, with RKCs on Facebook and Twitter offering tons of support; I'm lucky enough to train and get mentored by RKC2, Mike Perry of Skill of Strength. I made some nice friends at HKC and we all support each other as well.
As I progress in my training and hit personal records, I feel success and that's a good thing.
So, that's it. That's why I train. That's why I've set this huge goal for myself, and that's why I'll continue to work hard to get better, every day.
If you're still reading this, thank you for sticking with me.
xo