As I write this, my wife and I are visiting universities in Boston with our youngest son, Alex. We have also visited campuses in Washington, D.C. Alex may have more of an adventurous streak than his two older siblings, both now at the University of Georgia, although Leanne and Michael also impress us with their independence.

That Alex is interested in an out-of-state college experience is not generally appreciated by my wife. “And what is wrong with UGA?” she asks. And Sue has a point; not only does he have family and friends there, but we own a small house in Athens as well.

Still, Alex is a bright kid, and we have told all our children, “If you get into a college you want to attend, we will figure out a way to pay for it.” (God, why did you let me say that?) To be sure, the fact that Alex has a shot at MIT, Tufts and Georgetown, and that ECHS’ Tess DeMeyer was accepted to Brown University, is a tribute to our school system in Effingham.

I suppose what I have come to realize in consoling my better half is that there is a parenting “influence” curve, and we are on the down-slope. Sure, we will always be our children’s parents, but let’s face it, our influence is waning. We have already impressed upon them the lion’s share of the messages that will help them figure out who they are and what they are about as they make decisions in their life and engage the future.

Yet, my wife is the quintessential mom. She wants her children close by. And so do I. Who wants to travel across the country to see grandchildren? But, and here is the difference, I want our children to be near us, to return to Effingham, because — knowing what life is like in other parts of the country — they choose to be here, not because they think they can’t make it anywhere else.

I suppose I feel the same way about our children’s faith. We have done, for the most part, all we could do. We have brought them to church, taught them, and tried our best to reflect good Christian values and living in their upbringing.

In that regard, we have already impressed upon them the lion’s share of the Christian messages that will help them figure out who they are as children of God. And Sue and I always feel a special warmth when we hear our children have, with no prompting from us, attended church services in Athens.

To some degree, I feel like a coach who has worked for years to prepare an athlete for competition. Now, I get to sit back and watch that athlete perform.

Yes, the lion’s share of our job is done. And there is some grief in that. But mostly, a lot of joy.