It was great fun being an interviewer and an interviewee last year during the Great Interview Experiment at Citizen of the Month. So when my friend Chris launched his own interview project, I signed right up.

Michelle of Not Afraid to Use It interviewed me this time around. She came up with some great questions, a few of which I had a hard time answering. Here’s the result.

I would like to begin with these fabulous shoebox letters you have been delving into. What have you learned about yourself from reading these letters? Has reading them brought you any new sense of self or perspective on your family?

“Sic transit gloria. Glory fades.” All of the things weighing on my mind right now? They’ll be far, far in the past before I know it. Rather than focusing my energy on worrying about that stuff, I need to enjoy the little wonders that are flying by with them. That’s the lesson that I’m trying to absorb.

I really see these letters as a gift. It’s not often that you’re able to get such a personal glimpse into your relatives’ lives.

How do you balance being Nichole-the-Parent with Nichole-the-Woman? How do you keep Nichole-the-Parent sane? What makes Nichole-the-Woman tick?

Being a mother is an intrinsic part of me now, so there’s not all that much of a separation. I get up at least half an hour before the kids in the mornings to have a little alone time, and Rockford takes care of baths and bedtime in the evenings. I go out solo every now and then, but I don’t really enjoy it all that much. I like being with my family. That being said, it’s nice to have a break every now and then. I do like to go the library alone.

(Boy, I sound like a real stick-in-the-mud, don’t I?)

What makes me tick? Gracious, I don’t have a clue how to answer that.

I see you enjoy participating in the Friday Shuffle. How important would you say music is to you? Is there a song that defines you in this moment? The person you are right now?

I love having the iPod hooked up to the stereo system because it means I can put it on shuffle and there’ll be music all day long. Music is very important to me, but not in a way I’ve really tried to quantify. It can improve my mood, and it’s a nice way to connect with others. I love singing with Poppy and Rockford in the car, for example. Pete has started sort of “oooohing” along sometimes, too, which is just great.

I can’t really think of a song that defines me right now. It would probably be from “Sesame Street” if there was one.

Being as my husband is Swedish, I feel I hold the right to brag about our homemade Swedish meatballs. I see from your posts that IKEA has turned you into a Swedish meatball enthusiast. If I were to give you my 100% authentic Swedish meatball recipe, would you make them from scratch?

Absolutely! I tried a from-scratch Swedish meatball recipe from Cook’s Illustrated a few months ago. It was good, but I’d love to try an authentic Swede’s version.

I see you are excited about the latest premiere of The Amazing Race. If you auditioned for the show and made it, who would you want to be your partner? Why? (Why that particular partner and why would you want to be on the show?)

I’m a little chagrined to say that I’ve given this a lot of thought over the last few years. My opinion on this changes frequently, but here’s where it currently stands:

Rockford and I work pretty well together, but I don’t think he tends to go easy on me. So that probably wouldn’t be the best choice.

Rockford’s sister Chloe has pretty much limitless energy and determination, and I think she’d be a force of nature on the show. But she has a thing about flying over large bodies of water (she won’t), so she’s out, too.

My brother Justin and I would fight the whole time. He would probably make me cry a lot, and we would have a hard time with the Eating Gross Things challenges. But he’s smart, he’s strong and he’s charming, so I think he’d do well in the competition.

I think I’d be the weak link in any pairing, because I’m terribly out of shape. I’m still not sure I’d want to be on the show. It would be a crazy adventure, but it looks really stressful.

Thanks for taking the time to interview me, Michelle! Now that I’m in a sharing mood, are there any more questions anyone out there would like answered?