Wow, blessed, what a break that your dd had a friend nearby, rather than being somewhere completely unfamiliar or being on an interstate highway! I didn't realize your dmother was back in Illinois for any particular length of time. I missed that. Sorry she is not finding it happy right now. Hopefully one animal under your uncle's house will be a quick fix for the animal control folks.
According to mapquest, this place where dd interviewed could be as quick as 20 minutes away if there's no traffic. In commuter traffic, I have no idea how much longer it could get. Wish I'd timed it on the way home just after 5, but I neglected to do that. We were in several traffic slow-downs. So I can see that driving her will become a big part of the day for 8 weeks and a lot of miles. Hopefully, HRH can take on some of it.
About the activity as we get older, I glanced over at the area that used to be a flower garden of mine and felt kinda down this morning. I used to work so hard on that area, lugging bags of soil amendments, bending, getting down on hands and knees, working until the mosquitos came out in the evening, lol. I still have the desire for the flowers but know that I won't be able to do all that work very well. I have to tend to the necessities around here instead.