We arrived home to find it in pristine condition. I completely forgot that the cleaning lady was supposed to come today. When we first got married I did all the cleaning and didn't really mind it. Sasha was of course a pig, but I was able to train him in putting dishes in the dishwasher and not to leave dirty underwear everywhere. When I became pregnant with Hope and was put on bedrest, it was decided that we would hire someone to clean the house. The decision was actually made by Sasha when he came home early one day to find me cleaning while I was on bedrest. To this day I have never seen Sasha as angry as he was when he caught me cleaning.
Bringing Hope into her room she immediately found some toys to keep her busy and I went over to her dresser to start packing. Grabbing double the amount of clothes that Hope would need I went over to Hope's closet to take out her suitcase to start filling. Hope did have her own walk in closet but it was rarely used. After finishing packing for Hope I turned on the baby monitor and went to my room to pack. Seeing my bed nice and made up, I had this strong urge to climb into it. Figuring I would just rest my eyes for a minute or so, I climbed under the covers and closed my eyes. The next thing I knew I felt calloused hands slowly playing with my hair.
"Sorry you just looked so beautiful lying there with your hair laid out." "What time is it?" I replied groggily. "Its quarter to midnight, go back to sleep." "I have to pack." "No you don't I packed your bags for you." This got me to bolt out of bed, the last time Sasha packed for me, I barely had any clothes to wear. Sure enough my bag was at the foot of the bed fully packed. Opening the bag, I wasn't too surprised with what was in them. Sasha had packed multiple Rock Coach warm up attire. There was one pair of pajamas, and some socks. He completely forgot underwear, and there was nothing to wear if we wanted to go out to dinner, or if I wanted to wear anything but warm ups.
"Sasha what am I supposed to wear for underwear?" He turned to me and grinned, and I definitely got the idea that he didn't pack anything on purpose. "I honestly forgot, I can help you pack those as well." Figuring it would be a bad idea letting Sasha "help" pack the rest of what I needed, I slowly made my way over to my underwear drawer murmuring "no thank you". After finishing packing my underwear, as well as clothes that weren't warm ups, I went to check on my daughter. Sasha had tucked her into bed, her Tweety Bird tucked in right next to her. After kissing her goodnight, I went back to my bedroom. I found Sasha fast asleep on the bed, and feeling exhausted myself I quickly packed my toiletries, got undressed and went to bed.
"Mama plane time!" "Mama plane time!" was the wonderful screech I heard to wake me up. Turning to look at the alarm clock, I noticed it was 3 a.m.. Turning to my daughter who was being held by Sasha, I smiled and said "yes plane time". Turning to Sasha I put up my hand for five minutes, and he nodded in understanding, taking Hope back to her room to play. Reluctantly getting out of bed I went to wash my face, brush my teeth, and get dressed. We had to be at The Rock before 3:30, and gymnasts were required to get there by 4. Nationals was being held in Boston again, so it was almost a four hour flight from Denver, not including the forty minute ride from Boulder to Denver. Having a 2 year old in a bus for 40 minutes along with 15 nervous gymnasts was not what I call fun. Thankfully it looked like Sasha had already taken the bags downstairs.
Appearing at the doorway to Hope's room both Sasha and Hope were playing airplane. Each had their arms extended fully both making buzzing noises while they zoomed around the room. Taking my phone I snapped a picture of the two of them before Sasha noticed I was there. I then went into Hope's room and picked her up, as the flying would have to wait until the actual plane. "Time to go to The Rock and pick up the gymnasts so we can go on the plane." Hope giggled as she continued to hold her arms out while I was holding her. Now she was really "flying".
Hope for once didn't fight me when I put her in her car seat. It was too early for breakfast, so we went straight to the car. Sasha had already packed the bags, and had remembered to put both the baby bag and my travel bag right next to Hope and not in the trunk. Technically we could've walked to The Rock, but with all the luggage it was just too much. Hope practically had an entire suitcase full of toys.
Sitting in the entry hall waiting for all the gymnasts to come in was not Hope's idea of fun. Sasha had tried to keep her busy by rolling one of the big gym balls back and forth between the two of them, but it wasn't enough to hold my daughters attention. As soon as the first gymnast and her parents stepped through the door, Hope immediately ran behind me to hide. She held her hands up to be picked up, which I of course did. For the rest of the time we waited at The Rock I held onto her, Tweety in one of her hands and her other hand had her thumb in her mouth.
It didn't take long for all the gymnasts to get here, and as soon as all the bags were loaded into the bus, plus Hope's stroller and car seat, we all boarded. Hope was sitting on my lap, as the bus didn't have seatbelts. She wanted to run around and basically whined the entire forty minute ride to the airport. When we finally got to the airport I carried her down the steps of the bus until Sasha got her stroller and I strapped her in. Sasha gave me a quick kiss and whispered that he loved me. Then he went into coaching mode, and organized all the gymnasts. He carried the suitcases, and I led with my bag and Hope in the stroller. As we were entering the airport, I could of sworn someone was taking a picture of us. It was something I had gotten used to a long time ago, but I still didn't like people taking pictures of Hope.
As soon as we entered the airport you could tell Hope was amazed. She was looking everywhere and anywhere, taking everything in. Granted this wasn't the first time she has been on a plane, but usually we fly privately, as we are too big of celebrities to fly otherwise. Also we tended to fly at night when Hope was asleep. We dropped off the luggage at the counter, everyone had already checked in online. There were a few people who pointed at us whispering, but again I had gotten used to this. Hope continued to marvel at all the bright lights, and big departure screens. "Plane time" she screamed.
Before we got to the security checkpoint, I again reminded Hope that Tweety would have to go through the x-ray machine. She continued to say "NO TWEETY MINE". Once we double checked that we had everyone, Sasha entered the main security line with the gymnasts, while Hope and I entered the first class line. Sasha would be sitting in first class with us, but he still had to keep track of the gymnasts. There was no way I was waiting in line with Hope for longer than I had to. I just hoped that Hope and TSA didn't give me too much of a hassle.
At the identification check there was the usual sight of recognition in the TSA agent's look, and she let us pass right through. When we got to the x-ray machine I placed all our carry on items and stroller onto the conveyor belt. I looked down at Hope, who was now out of her stroller gripping Tweety like her life depended on it. I got down to Hope's level, and kindly asked her to hand over Tweety. "Nooooooooo!" she stated placing her hands on her hips. The businesswoman behind us awed at Hope's answer. Hating myself for what I was about to do, I took Tweety from Hope and placed it on the conveyor belt. Hope immediately burst into tears.
"Hope no!" was my immediate reaction when she tried to climb up onto the conveyor belt. I grabbed her and placed her back down on the floor, as she was kicking and screaming as soon as I picked her up. "People go through the metal detector, they are too big for the x-ray machine." I tried to explain to Hope, as I continued to block her from the conveyor belt. "Tweety will come out the other sideā¦" I immediately regretted saying that, as my daughter dashed through the metal detector to the other side. I immediately followed her, the TSA agent waving me through. Thankfully neither one of us set off the alarm.
My heart was absolutely racing as soon as Hope dashed through the metal detector. Hope had ended up on the floor on the other side of the metal detector, I saw her trip as she was running to get Tweety. I picked up my hysterical daughter, kissing her and holding on to her as if both our lives depended upon it. I grabbed Tweety from the conveyor belt, handing it to my daughter who grabbed it immediately, and continued to cry into my shirt. Holding a crying child while trying to gather your things is extremely difficult, and I was an Olympic champion gymnast.
With my bags on my shoulder, and the stroller in my only free hand, I went to the closest bench. Dropping the bags on the floor, I turned to Hope who was still resting against my breast, she had cried herself out. I started to rub her back, more to calm me down then to calm my daughter down. The entire time I kept shushing her, even though she had finished crying. Before I knew it Hope had fallen asleep, and after what I had just been through, I was completely exhausted.
Finally Sasha had made it through security, and when he saw the distraught look on my face, his pace increased as he reached me. That's when my own waterworks started, as he immediately enveloped both me and Hope in a hug. Taking Hope from my exhausted arms and placing her in the stroller, Sasha didn't turn back to me until Hope was completely strapped in. "What happened?"
"Your daughter did not like the fact that Tweety had to go through the x-ray machine. First she wouldn't give Tweety over to me. I had to take Tweety from her which immediately launched her into waterworks. Then she tried to climb onto the conveyor belt and go through the x-ray machine with Tweety. I blocked her, and stupidly told her that we can get Tweety on the other side. It was stupid of me to say that, because she immediately ran through the metal detector, while I was still trying to block her from getting on the x-ray conveyor belt. I almost lost her." All that was said in one breath, and at the end Sasha's face had turned white.
Placing his hand on my shoulder to help calm both me and himself he asked "just one question love, how come you weren't holding her like you were when the two of you were in line?" For some reason this question made me snap. "Because when I told your daughter she had to give me Tweety she immediately started doing this." I pounded my fists against his chest, and slammed my foot against his. I then took off with my bags and Hope in her stroller for our gate. Had I looked back I would've seen Sasha talking to an airport policeman, and the flash of someone's camera going off.
It was just about boarding time when Hope woke up from her impromptu nap. I was sitting in a chair near the boarding door, with Hope's stroller facing me. Sasha and the other gymnasts were all over in a corner, waiting for their rows to be called. Sasha would be the last of the group to get on the plane, since he was responsible for everyone. I do wish he would come over here though, and talk to me. I felt bad for what I had done.
Probably about five minutes before it was time for us to board the plane Hope woke up. As she saw the plane behind me through the window her face lit up. "Plane Plane Plane!" Hope pointed with excitement. Seeing my daughter happy again seemed to take a weight off my chest. They called for the first class passengers to board, and I gathered our stuff and headed down the jetway. Unbuckling Hope at the end of the jetway from her stroller, and leaving it for the baggage people, both of us headed onto the plane.
Taking a left into first class, I found our seats placing Hope in the seat by the window and seatbelting her in. She had to crane her neck to see out the window, but I planned for her to sit in my lap during takeoff and landing anyways. After putting our stuff away in the overhead bin, I unbuckled Hope and sat down placing Hope in my lap. Hope was absolutely thrilled to be sitting in my lap, because now she could see everything. The stewardess came by with a hot towel and to ask if I wanted anything. I asked for a cup of tea, and some milk for Hope.
The hot towel felt good against my face. Soon after arrived the tea and a carton of milk for Hope. I poured the milk into Hope's sippy cup and started to drink my tea. Hope was still entranced by what was happening outside the plane. I finished my tea rather quickly, and almost everyone was on the plane. About a minute after I finished my tea, Sasha was next to me putting the rest of our bags into the overhead bin.
I noticed a large drink on my tray table, and I saw a smirk on the corner of Sasha's mouth. "It's a chocolate milkshake." Sasha told me, and then gave me a kiss on the top of my head. "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have hit you." I tapped the seat next to me motioning for him to sit. I could hear a couple of awes in the rows behind us from some of the gymnasts. Now I had a milkshake to finish. "Can you switch with me, so I can drink that, and Hope can see better. They are going to make us close our tray tables for takeoff, and I can't hold the milkshake and Hope at the same time."
Sasha switched seats with me, with Hope not even acknowledging his presence. I did notice Sasha held on to Hope a little tighter than he needed to, but with what happened earlier I couldn't blame him. I also found myself touching my daughter a little more than was normal. I don't know how my mother ever let us out of her sight. Hope was still paying no attention to either of us, her entire attention span was taken up by the window.
As we pulled back from the gate, my daughter's excitement continued to increase. "Fly fly fly!" She screeched. The flight attendants started the safety spiel as the plane's engines came to life. As we began to taxi my daughter was practically bouncing on Sasha's legs with excitement. Sasha and I both smiled at each other, and he leaned over to give me a quick peck on the lips. I returned the kiss with a little more vigor, which took Sasha by surprise. After all he did bring me a chocolate milkshake. A small smirk could be seen on the side of my lips.
As we began to taxi down the taxiway, while the captain was giving his welcome speech, I couldn't help but stare at the look of wonder on my daughter's face. I was sipping on my milkshake while my daughter was staring with awe at the window and what was outside the window. If I could stay in this moment forever I would. The moment was broken as Sasha cleared his throat and pointed to my upper lip. "What?" I asked him. "You kind of have a chocolate mustache, and you're not in any of those Got Milk commercials anymore." I stuck my tongue out at him, and then proceeded to wipe my face with a napkin. "Better?" "Yeah you got it."
The plane turned onto the runway, and all the cabin attendants had previously been seated. Sasha and my own eyes were glued onto our daughter. Her grin couldn't have been any bigger. As the engines powered up my daughters on spread out like wings. "Fly fly fly fly." As the plane rolled down the runway, our daughter started to squeal with laughter. When the plane left the asphalt below, Sasha picked Hope up and started flying her around. Even more squeals of laughter could be heard from Hope. I gave Sasha the evil eye, and he promptly put Hope back on his lap.
About ten minutes later the flight attendant came around with the menu choices for first class. We chose omelets for all three of us, although I know Sasha brought his cereal, and I doubt Hope would like precooked omelets. When we received our food, Hope confirmed my suspicions. First she wouldn't take her eyes off the window, and when we threatened to close the shade unless she ate Hope screamed "NO!" and continued to look out the window. Sasha cut up some of the omelet and started to feed her while she continued to look out the window. Hope actually didn't mind this, until she tasted the omelet and immediately spit the food out onto Sasha's pants. "Yucky" she said almost as an afterthought. Sasha picked the egg off his pants, and looked at me with a helpless look. Originally we were going to get her something at the airport, but that all fell through when she pulled what she did at security.
Opening up her diaper bag, I found her cheerios, and handed them to Sasha. "Make her eat the yogurt that came with the meal first." Sasha did as he was told, and thankfully Hope didn't put up much of a fight. After finishing both her cheerios and the yogurt, I could see that Hope was going to need a nap. Her eyes kept drooping and she started yawning. Just watching my daughter, I myself got tired. Sasha began to rub her back, which didn't seem to bother Hope. About half way through the flight, my daughter couldn't take anymore. She already had Tweety in one hand, and was sucking her thumb in the other, but she was still trying to stay awake. She finally reached up for me to take her, whining "Mama" with her hands held out. I picked her up from her father's grasp, and she immediately laid her head down on my chest. "Mama soft, Tata no soft" stated my child as I began to rub her back. Before I knew it, she was out, and a few seconds later so was I.
I woke up having to go to the bathroom, and having a huge weight on my chest. My head was resting against Sasha's shoulder, and someone had placed a blanket over Hope and me. Sasha was also sleeping, apparently the morning had tired him out as well. Waking Sasha up gently, I motioned for the lavatory, and for him to take Hope. We carefully switched our sleeping daughter from my arms to his. As much as I would rather wait to use the restroom at the airport, I really couldn't wait. Thankfully the airplane lavatory was not that smelly or dirty, and I was able to go as quickly as possible.
I returned to my seat to find Hope wide awake, and once again staring out the window. Sasha motioned that he was going to change Hope, and I let him out with Hope struggling to continue to watch through the window. As Sasha entered the lavatory, I could hear him bang his head on something. I could also hear my daughter giggling. After a few more minutes of something banging against the wall, along with my daughter's giggles, Sasha finally returned holding a changed Hope and the diaper bag. It wasn't long before the captain came on the speakers, indicating we were about to land.
As the plane started to descend for landing, I handed my daughter some more food. Hopefully the change in pressure wouldn't make her ears hurt, or if it did the chewing on the cheerios would take care of it. Hope was once again engrossed in watching the window. When Sasha shifted to make him more comfortable Hope screamed "Tata stop". "Small house" was the comment that came out of my daughter when we started descending and she could see the houses more clearly.
Again my daughter was completely mesmerized by what she was seeing out the window. Sasha had his arm around me, playing with some stray locks of my hair, his other arm was securely locked around our daughter. We watched as the plane continued its descent, and began its initial approach right over Boston Harbor. "Mama, Tata plane go for swim!" Sasha and I both laughed at our daughter's suggestion, and continued to watch her watching the plane land. Suddenly the ocean was gone, and asphalt was beneath the plane. The plane landed with a slight bump, and you could definitely feel the deceleration of the aircraft before we turned onto a taxiway.
Immediately after the landing was over, Hope turned to the two of us and yelled "Do Again!" We both smiled back at her as she turned back to the window to watch the plane taxi to the gate. Once we were parked, Sasha switched seats with me, and took down our carry-ons from the overhead bin. I grabbed the diaper bag and my own bag, and when I picked up Hope, she started to scream. "Noooooo do again!" After watching my daughter all through the flight, I was prepared for this to happen. "Hope we will be back on the airplane soon, but first we have to go exploring." My daughter had a curious mind, and there was nothing she liked to do more than explore. "Splorin?" "Yes we will go exploring after we settle into the hotel."
After that crisis was avoided, we waited for first class to empty out, and then we followed. Once I got Hope into her stroller on the jetway, we both went up the ramp to wait for the gymnasts and other coaches that came with us. We sat just by the exit door, Sasha's arm was once again around me, and I snuck in a kiss. Hope apparently had begun to tire again, as I could see that she could barely keep her eyes open. She had one hand clutched around Tweety, the other she was using to suck her thumb.
As we were sitting there, a girl around 10 years old came up to me and asked if she could have a picture with me. I agreed, and took a minute to talk to the girl, and found out that she was a huge fan of gymnastics, and was coming to Boston to watch Nationals. The entire time the girl was extremely polite, and her parents stayed just off to the side, thanking me afterwards for paying some attention to their daughter. By the time we were done, the entire Rock team had circled around Sasha and we were ready to go to baggage claim.
A few of the gymnasts had to use the restroom first, so we stopped there. Hope was now completely asleep, and I placed Tweety right in the back of the stroller, so it wouldn't fall on our way to get our bags. Once everyone had finished using the facilities, we headed for baggage claim. As soon as we got beyond security, Sasha and I were ambushed by reporters. There were a million questions being asked at once, as well as a million cameras going off, and the police had to come over and clear a path for us. Once we got down to baggage claim with the police firmly entrenched around us, I turned on my phone and was unsurprised to see 20 different text messages, 18 from my agent, 1 from my sister, and 1 from my mother.
Since I almost always call my mother as soon as I get in to a new city, I decided to ignore the texts and give my mother a call. "Payson are you alright?" "I'm fine mom what is going on?" "Well according to the news, Sasha and you are split, and although I don't believe it for a second that clip of the two of you is pretty damning." "Sasha and I are fine, what clip are you talking about?" Sasha who was listening to our conversation, and had apparently been reading his text messages, showed me his phone with a video of me and him at Denver's airport when I started to hit him and then run away with Hope. "Never mind Mom, Sasha just showed it to me." I then proceeded to tell my mother the whole story. After quick I love yous and we'll talk later, we both hung up just as our baggage was arriving. Of course my mother also wanted to talk to Hope, but she was out like a light. Thank god the swarm of media upstairs didn't wake her.
Before I even had a chance to count our bags, I could hear my agent arguing with one of the police officers that she was with me. I went up to the officer and told him to let her through, although it was against my better judgment. "We need to talk, where is that idiot husband of yours?" "I'm right behind you, and don't you dare call me an idiot ever again." "How about we talk once we get to the hotel, and I get Hope settled, and then we can talk." I said leaving no room for argument. Sasha kissed me on the top of my head, and once all the gymnasts and other coaches had their belongings, we headed for the bust to take us to the hotel.
AN: Sorry it took me so long to update, but I have been extremely busy. Great to see Team USA take the gold, and my favorite Aly Raisman bringing home two golds and a bronze. She got screwed in the All Around.
PS: Not sure if I'm going to continue this, so if people are still interested, let me know.
