Cat fight and memory-making

Last night, as we were all preparing for bed, the girls and I started hearing this awful noise.  At first, we thought it was someone outside screaming, but it went on for a long time.  Finally, I realized that it was a cat fight.  If you've ever heard a cat fight, then you know how awful they sound;  if you haven't, then you can't even imagine.  Sometimes it sounds like a  baby crying~ shrieking, really.  I said to the girls, "I always wished that someone would drop a baby on our doorstep~ maybe I should go check!" 
Anyway, the noise went on and the fighting continued.  We were reading for awhile, and I finally told the girls they would have to go to bed.  Ashley adamantly declared that there was NO WAY she'd be able to sleep through that awful noise. 
Then, she said something that I just KNEW I had to post on my blog.........
"Mom, why do those cats have to fight for that long?!  People don't even fight that long!  Wars don't even last that long!"  I started laughing and Ashley said "Mom, you must be really tired~ it wasn't THAT funny!"
The thing is, it reminded me of one of those "kids say the darndest things" moments~ kinda like the cutesy little things that Gracie is always saying that I just have to post and share.  And, I remembered that, not so very long ago, Ashley was a little girl too~ and I wished I could freeze her.  I remember how she couldn't pronounce the word "crayons"~ we got so many humorous variations of that word~ I can still repeat them but couldn't begin to spell them!  She couldn't say any word that started with a double-consonant blend (such as school or smell).  I used to worry that she'd need speech class.  Then, one day, the speech problems disappeared;  and, before I turned around twice, she turned 13. 
Wow!  Time flies!  I want to make sure I savor every moment with my kids~ what precious memories. 
Ashley has a category on my blog, and I haven't even used it (until now).  Hard to believe she's  busy sharing her life on her own blog!    This morning, we sat for awhile and worked on making some changes to her blog~ making it more "her".  Yes, she still needs me (very much) to be her Mommy;  but I'm really beginning to enjoy these moments when we can also be friends.