Lifestyle2 min(s) read
Published 14:34 26 Nov 2021 GMT
A grandma who accidentally texted a stranger inviting him over for Thanksgiving has celebrated her sixth holiday with the young man.
Wanda Dench, 64, and Jamal Hinton, 22, have sparked something of a tradition since the mix-up several years ago, which saw the former send the latter a text thinking it was her grandson.
On Thursday, the pair, no longer a couple of strangers, celebrated their sixth Thanksgiving together. Hinton even documented the occasion by posting a photo of him with Dench and his girlfriend Mikaela. He also shared pictures from their previous five celebrations together.
Alongside a yellow heart emoji and a turkey emoji, the 22-year-old captioned the sweet post: "Thanksgiving 2021. 6 years strong."
Per People, the unlikely pals first became acquainted in November 2016 when Dench accidentally sent the then-17-year-old a text message inviting him over for Thanksgiving dinner, which she had meant to send her 24-year-old grandson.
Following a confused exchange, the former strangers sent each other selfies confirming that the teen was not, in fact, her grandson.
Dench later realized that her grandson had changed his number, but when Hinton asked if he could still come over for dinner, she responded: "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do … feed everyone," as reported by ABC News.
The two, despite the age difference between them, ultimately became friends with Hinton previously telling People that "it was so unexpected, but she was just so sweet about it."
"It was a reminder that there are still some good people left in this world," he said. "She is a very sweet lady... I just got a vibe from her that made me feel at home."
In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Dench recalled how impressed she was by the youngster when she met him for the first time.
She said: "I just clicked when I met him and first talked to him. I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I want to get to know this guy.' "
Sadly, Dench's husband Lonnie passed away in April 2020 after he fell ill with Covid-19. Even without her husband, the grieving widow has continued her tradition with Hinton.
