Jamal Hinton shares his excitement as he posts Instagram photos from the past two Thanksgiving dinners with Wanda Dench. It looks like the two then-strangers are looking forward to celebrate it again together this year.
Invited By Accident
This cute Thanksgiving story began in 2016 when Dench accidentally sent a text message to Hinton. A grandmother of six, she thought that it was his grandson’s phone number. Although by mistake, Dench invited him anyway. And he showed up.
Before the meet-up, Hinton shared on Twitter the screenshots of the wrong text message from “Grandma”. Many people shared the post across the different platforms and it became viral.
Thanksgiving dinner came, Dench and her family welcomed Hinton and even the media. Their accidental Thanksgiving dinner became an instant Internet sensation.
Since then, the two kept in touch through text messages. Hinton talked about his future plans on getting into law school and becoming a sports agent. Dench shared about how the rest of her family is doing. She also gave advised on Dench’s future plans. He regarded her as his new adopted grandmother.
The Second Thanksgiving Together
The following year, Dench invited Hinton again. This time, it was not by accident and a month in advance. Knowing that he has a family to spend Thanksgiving dinner with, she understood if
he couldn’t. But he did. Hinton spent Thanksgiving with his family in the morning, and with the Dench family the rest of the afternoon.
The second Thanksgiving dinner together was more intimate and relaxed. Hinton introduced his girlfriend and brought a pumpkin pie. There were no reporters this time, and they were able to talk more.
They felt more like an extended family and friends. Hinton admitted that his biological grandmother was a little bit jealous. But, she liked seeing his grandson on TV, so she somehow liked it too.
The Third Thanksgiving Dinner: Is it going to happen?
During their second Thanksgiving dinner together, Hinton expressed his plan on hosting the next one. Hearing this, Dench laughed and appreciated Hinton’s idea, “’I would like that. It’s a lot of work. If I could not do all the cooking and cleaning, I’d like that.”
The day after Thanksgiving Dinner 2018
It seems that thousands of people are curious and would like to know if indeed Jamal and Wanda spent Thanksgiving Dinner together for the third time, well first let’s see the invitation sent by ‘grandma Wanda’ to Jamal below:
And Jamal posted a NEW photo and declaring that it seems their yearly Thanksgiving dinner which started because of a ‘text gone wrong’ has a become a tradition indeed.
The Moral Lesson of This Real Life Story
For the third time in a row, it seems like Thanksgiving dinner between Hinton and the Dench family is officially a yearly tradition. It’s also nice to know that Wanda and her husband would sometimes meet up with Jamal and his girlfriend for lunch.
Their story shows that you don’t have to be family members or friends to celebrate Thanksgiving together. If you are courageous to open your door to strangers, the world will be a better place. Family is not about blood, it’s all about LOVE.
Don’t forget to share this heartwarming Thanksgiving story to your family and friends today.
Watch the video below and see how this ‘instant family’ was created by a wrong text:
UPDATED: Grandmother who texted the wrong teen for Thanksgiving will share her FOURTH holiday with him! [2019]