Sheila Anderson's granddaughter Maddie is too young to understand her uncle's sacrifice.

Cpl. Jordan Anderson was a member of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry when he served in Afghanistan.

Just days before his 26th birthday, on July 4, 2007, Jordan Anderson, along with five other soldiers and an Afghan interpreter, were killed when their convoy drove over an improvised explosive device.

His mother, Sheila, is in Ottawa for Wednesday's Remembrance Day ceremonies at the National War Memorial, where she'll represent all grieving parents as this year's Silver Cross Mother.

And on Tuesday, she began the difficult process of explaining her grief to her young granddaughter.

"Grandma, how come you're sad?" asked Maddie.

"How come grandma's sad? Because I'm thinking about Uncle Jordan you never even met," said Anderson.

The Silver Cross Mother is chosen annually by the Royal Canadian Legion, and will lay a wreath at the base of the National Memorial in honour of all mothers who lost their children in military service.

Anderson said she realizes the importance of her role for Canadians across the country.

"I recognize I don't represent just mothers but whole families," she said.

"Whole families lose children in war, not just mothers."

However, Remembrance Day is tough for Anderson, she still remembers her son trying to reassure her before heading to Afghanistan.

"He said: 'Don't worry … less than one per cent of soldiers die there from Canada,'" she said.

"I guess he didn't expect to be that one per cent.

Despite her lingering grief, Anderson is trying to focus on the positive memories of her eldest son, a man who loved adventure, farming, and his family.

"He was argumentative, opinionated, very bright and very well-read. So when he wanted to argue, you better be prepared," she said. "He challenged everyone."

And his strong opinions led him to the Canadian military.

Anderson's son joined the forces "right out of his first year of university."

"I believe that he thought he could make a difference," his mother told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday.

"He was interviewed after he was there," she said. "And he told that interviewer that he believed that someday he could come back to Afghanistan as a tourist."

Anderson says her son wanted to become an intelligence officer one day, and was committed to his academics. Even after joining the forces, he continued to work towards his degree.

"He studied while he was in the theatre and he studied while he was on home soil, doing exercises," she said.

He planned to get a master's degree at the University of Calgary after completing his undergraduate studies in history and political science.

He died just a few courses short from graduation, and the University of Manitoba posthumously granted him his bachelor's degree.

Initially, Anderson says, her son kept his parents in the dark about his choice to join the military.

"He didn't tell us he wanted to, he told us he had done it," Anderson said with a laugh.

"He wasn't going to give us any chance to discourage him."

His determination appears to run in the family.

Anderson suffered a stroke on August 30th and spent two months trying to get healthy enough to go to Ottawa.

And while she is grateful she could attend the ceremony, she still struggles with her reason for being there.

"I think all the time, 'Why him?'" Anderson said. "Not that I would wish it on anyone else, but I wish it wasn't us."

"I'm deeply honoured (to be the Silver Cross Mother)," she said. "And I hope that this group doesn't grow any bigger."

With files from CTV's Katie Simpson and Mercedes Stephenson