Mrs. Wookie, how do you do it?

This weekend I was asked by a non-militarily-attached lady how it is that I do what I do?

As in, how do I deal with the separations, the times when Mr. Wookie's side of the bed is unoccupied, which is a good question for those on the outside looking.  And since there's been a lot of Bumblebee Tuna and unicorn blessings on here lately, I might as well funk it up in the name of military separation.

My secret?

Ever since he was in Florida in the first parts of Flight School and I was rockin' it living it with my parents back in Hometown, Oregon, I created an alter ego at night to make it easier to go to sleep.  Whether this is considered like a split personality by counseling folks, I don't know...but it seems to work for me.

I have an entirely different mindset when I know I'm sleeping alone.  First off, I wear different pajamas.  I usually wear my uber-cheap Old Navy sleep tanks with pajama pants or shorts (depends on if it's cold or not).  And I'm not a matchy-matchy person, so don't judge if you ever see me standing outside our building after a fire alarm.  In my nightstand I keep some awesomely warm flannel pajamas or old t-shirts that are broken in to the perfect comfort level.  I've trained myself to know that if I'm rocking these, I definitely need to have the heater pad at the end of my bed because my tootsies won't be getting any assistance in the warmth category.

Secondly, I change the sheets.  One thing I LOVE when Mr. Wookie will be away for at least a week-plus.  Flannel sheets.  And yes, I'm aware the double flannel with the sheets and pajamas can make for a velcro-esque situation, but whatever.  Mr. Wookie loathes these (Baby Sister, this is how you use 'loathe.'  Long story short: Back in the day, Baby Sister thought 'loathe' meant 'adore, idolize, vote for on DWTS.'  Nope, sorry kid).  So when he's away is when I get to break these bad boys out.

Thirdly, I sleep on the other side of my body.  After spending a year and a half in voluntary separation, I've come to fall asleep decently well on the right ear (maybe that's where the ear wooshing in my right ear is coming from, he needs to leave...).  That way I look at the sliding glass door as opposed to the boring, missing opposite side of the bed.  Then I can see intruders, reach for the weapon, and p0ne them.  That's right, p0ne.

Then of course there's the upside to not having a roommate.  Slack on the dishes.  Eat Cheerios in bed (you know what I'm talking about NavyGirl!).  Do laundry once a month as opposed to twice a month.  And have every excuse in the book to eat nothing but bag salads, soup and sandwiches, and cereal.  Because why waste creativity in the kitchen on one.  I don't want to convince Mr. Wookie I can actually cook.  Nooo, that'd defeat the purpose of having a roommate after all.

What are your secrets?  A bottle of wine a night?