Grandmother, teen who met after accidental text now celebrating 6th Thanksgiving together

SAN ANTONIO – What started as an accidental text from an Arizona grandmother has now turned into a six-year Thanksgiving tradition.

In 2016, Wanda Dench, who believed she was texting her grandson, mistakenly invited 17-year-old Jamal Hinton over for Thanksgiving dinner, according to the Huffington Post.

Hinton asked Dench to send him a selfie and when she did, Hinton sent one back letting her know he was not her grandson.

That didn’t stop Dench, who still invited him over for Thanksgiving dinner. Hinton showed up, and he snapped a picture with the whole family, sharing it on social media.

The tweet, which has since been removed from Twitter, received thousands of likes and shares, Huffington post said.

After the viral post, the two went on to spend every Thanksgiving together and each year they would share a picture on social media.

Unfortunately last year, Dench’s husband Lonnie died of COVID-19, according to CNN. Despite the loss, Hinton still went on to celebrate a fifth Thanksgiving with his “second family”.

This year, Hinton shared a tweet that said they are “all set” for year six.

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