We all have a different take on what family holidays mean to us. Some could agree that preparing for big family holidays can take a lot of time and could even cause some stress. For others, it is the most awaited time that allows us to see our loved ones, catch up with them, and finally have some quality time at home with good food. Being a caring grandmother, a woman named Wanda Dench wrote a message to her grandson Justin inviting him to their family’s Thanksgiving dinner back in 2016.
Instead of getting a reply back from him, Wanda found out that she had accidentally sent the message to another person. That person was 17-year-old Jamal Hinton. You might think that after realizing this mistake, the conversation ended right there as it usually happens, but this story turned out to mark the beginning of a very beautiful friendship. This year marks the 6th Thanksgiving that Wanda and her family have spent with Jamal and his girlfriend.
More Info: Twitter
In 2016, Wanda Dench texted her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving dinner without realizing that it wasn't her grandson's number
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
After both Wanda and Jamal realized that there had been some miscommunication, the guy was still invited to "get a plate"
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
After texting with Wanda, the guy shared this conversation on Twitter, showing that he promised to come by at Dench’s house at Thanksgiving. Later Jamal posted a picture on Twitter where he could be seen with Wanda after he was welcomed by “grandma” and her husband Lonnie at their house. People loved that the two actually met and it seemed that Jamal himself had a great time with the “grandparents”.
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Thanksgiving wasn't the only time when the couples spent time together
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Soon after, Jamal, along with his girlfriend Mikaela, started spending some more time with Wanda and Lonnie, becoming really close friends. It soon became a tradition of theirs spending Thanksgiving and other holidays together. Through the years, they became really close, proving that even total strangers who might seem very different can become friends.
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Image credits: jamalhinton12
Image credits: jamalhinton12
Image credits: jamalhinton12
During the pandemic, Wanda and Lonnie got sick with Covd-19, however, only the woman recovered from it
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
However, Thanksgiving in 2020 was quite different for the family. In March of the same year, both Wanda and Lonnie got sick with Covid-19. While Wanda was able to recover from the virus, her husband sadly passed away. Knowing how hard this was to Wanda, a lot of people online who knew the story of Dench and Hinton’s friendship started sharing their condolences and sending support to Wanda. Jamal also made sure that this all would reach his “grandma” by sending her a care package with all of their messages in video format. You can read about their 5th Thanksgiving together and 1st without Lonnie here.
2020 was the year when the family had to celebrate Thanksgiving without Lonnie
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
They spent the evening remembering Lonnie and the time they got to share with him
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
This year Jamal and Wanda kept their tradition alive for the 6th time
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Image credits: Jamalhinton12
Image credits: wandadench
Image credits: Jamalhinton12