Kid number two is almost across the finish line. G has officially committed to his first choice college, the school we’ve all known he was destined to go to since he was about 5 years old.

Yes, he’s following in his dad’s footsteps and heading to Happy Valley.

I made him at least try some other schools.

We visited a few, and he was accepted everywhere he applied, but from the minute he got his “We Are” letter in the mail, I suspected his fate was sealed.

Going through this process a second time taught me that everything I’d learned the first time meant nothing at all.

I had two kids who both knew exactly what they wanted, but one seemed like an incredible long shot, while the other seemed inevitable, the logical conclusion for a new beginning.

In the end, both have landed exactly where they belong, and as a parent, I do not take that lightly at all.

Partly because of poor planning on my part, partly because of various programs G wants to pursue, and partly because it’s just not that far away, we have now made several trips to his future home for the next four (maybe more) years for assorted accepted student activities.

Each time, I’m absolutely stunned at how at home he seems and how quickly he is acclimating to new people and experiences.

I also realized that this will be the first time in his life that he is not following in his brother’s footsteps.

I’m not sure if he’s consciously made that connection yet, but as I see the differences in how they approached their acceptances, new student activities and preparations for this next chapter, I am very aware that for the first time in his life, G is forging into an unknown. He is rising to the challenge, maybe even relishing it.

G leaving is going to change my life in ways that A moving on did not.

Both of their application processes brought us closer, but in very different ways.

A and I spent hours rehashing and honing his essays for a bunch of different schools.

G wrote his common app essay and then a few short answers for some additional programs he was interested in getting into, and that was it. I was almost disappointed by that, because G’s brain works in a very different way than my brain and A’s work, and it was often a challenge (in a good way) for us to work together.

Whereas A was the driving force when it came to maintaining things around the house, and could reliably be counted on for handling chores, G is the mastermind behind new projects.

He bemoaned the fact that he may not be here this fall to harvest a lot of his crops, which of course means I’ll be the one doing it.

Not to mention that his poultry will also need a new keeper.

A’s accepted student visits were all independent. I dropped him at the gate and went off to do my own thing. Most of G’s activities have been parent/student integrated, and I’ve seen his reactions firsthand. We’ve also had a lot of short drives home to talk about our experience.

G is methodical and is quick to fill me in on all of the things that ran through his head throughout the day’s activities, including his likes and dislikes, initial impressions, and what he thinks about how the day’s events will impact his future studies.

With A, I was more or less the beneficiary of whatever he chose to tell me about his experience, and I didn’t have much in the way to offer.

I was a little worried that G was too comfortable with his high school friends and with high school in general. Senior year for A was tantamount to torture at times.

He was so ready for it to be over and to move on to the next step. G, on the other hand, has seemed to finally hit his stride and be enjoying every moment of his final year of school.

I was worried that this would make it harder for him to move on, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I’ve noticed that he’s taken to wearing college gear, whether it’s a polo with the insignia deftly woven into the print, a tie with a small logo on it, or his new hoodie additions, he is quietly proud to show his new colors. Which, luckily for the general matching of wardrobe items, are the same as his old ones.

As a mom, it’s a lot easier to let them go when you know they’re moving in the right direction, and I’m extremely grateful, that after all of the other hiccups they’ve had in their lives, that two out of three of them are heading in directions that they’ve chosen, and that they’re motivated to be moving in.

Most importantly, they’ve set great examples for E. I’m going to enjoy my year off from college applications and start gearing up for the third and final round. If my experience has taught me anything, it’s that I have no idea what will be in store for me.

Liz Pinkey’s column appears on Saturdays in the Times News