Grandpa Butch, Will, Andy and Grandpa B. This picture was taken on Father's Day, at what was to be our last family gathering before Grandpa B.'s passing.

As a parent, one of the things I find the most difficult is when my children ask me questions I simply don't have the answers to.

I mean, how do you explain things you don't understand yourself?

My little boy, Will, is 6 years old. Just over a month ago, he lost his godfather to a motorcycle accident. Yesterday, his great-grandfather, to whom he was exceedingly close, died.

He is just a kid, and he has been dealt two tremendous losses in the space of a month. He asks me why these things have happened, and I don't know what to tell him. I'm a grown-up, and I know how to grieve. I know that death is permanent and I know I have to keep on with my daily life ... going to work, grocery shopping, doing the dishes, etc. ... even though I'm hurting and sometimes I just plain don't feel like it.

I cling to my faith in times like this, but I've had years to develop that response and to know that, for me, is what works when I'm at the end of my rope and feeling tested.

In our society, we can't stop for grief. But in Will's mind, the world should pause for a while because these terrible things have happened and his little heart is breaking.

Will has always been ... well, a Mama's Boy, for lack of a better phrase. He's my baby and I've probably coddled him a little more than I should have. But now, with all this upheaval, he's become downright clingy.

I just don't know what to do with him ... I don't know how to get him to talk about what's bothering him rather than acting out. I'm the mom, and I'm supposed to know everything.

It really makes me feel ineffectual when I don't.