Last night I lit up the internet.

That’s me, above, with some 500 of my closest friends—er, near acquaintances—at Chicago’s Lyric Opera, and of course on the internet, singing Queen.

Normally I sing only in the car and the kitchen. And only when no one but my husband can hear me. I can carry a tune, but just barely. But a week ago, as I waited at home sick while my husband joined a friend at the rally I wished I could attend, I saw a promotion for a DIY choral performance run by Choir! Choir! Choir! and thought, “That sounds like fun!” A quick text exchange later, I was buying three tickets—for myself, my husband, and our friend who was with him at the rally.

I’m not sure what I was thinking, buying tickets to join a choir when I was actually sick. By the time performance night rolled around, I had missed two days of work and was still battling congestion and a persistent cough, and my husband also had caught my cold. As a result, two out of three people in our little troupe were either sick or recovering from sickness when we headed to the opera house to sing with a group of total strangers.

But you know what? We had a great time. I had to pop a cough drop into my mouth midway through our practice session, but it did the trick, and I was actually able to sing. Astonishingly, the people standing around me never once looked over at me with expressions of horror at the sounds emanating from my mouth. Perhaps they were simply exceedingly polite, though I think perhaps my talented vocal friend next to me helped to drown me out when I went off key.

Music is therapeutic. Community with total strangers is uplifting. Queen is irresistible. I’m glad that I battled through my head cold and inherent reticence to sing in front of anyone, and joined in this particular night of fun. This was my view, from way in the back of the room.

Again, I’m filled with gratitude:

• That I have the resources to take advantage of an opportunity like this
• That my husband and friend embraced it with me
• That last night was an utterly gorgeous night, with a clear half moon and a warming breeze
• For music
• For Queen
• For the 500 or so people who showed up at the opera house to do this together

I’d do it again. I just might. I’m still walking around the house singing Queen.