This is the story of a mistaken text message and how it led to a lasting relationship between two families. In 2016, Wanda Dench intended to text her grandson to invite him to their yearly Thanksgiving dinner. However, she accidentally addressed it to a stranger named Jamal Hinton. Jamal realized that the message was not intended for him. He send a picture of himself to Wanda suggesting that she was probably not his grandmother and he, not her grandson.
Can you imagine getting a text like that from a stranger? Can you imagine making that mistake?!
Wanda invited him to her family Thanksgiving anyway. And they had such a good time together it became a tradition.
After four years, both Wanda and her husband, Lonnie, came down with COVID in April of 2020. Unfortunately, Lonnie did not survive.
Nevertheless, in November of that same year they all got tother to honor Lonnie, to give thanks and to carry on the tradition.
You can use this story to talk about traditional and non-traditional families, traditional and non-traditional celebrations. Some families have traditions of inviting friends and even strangers to family events. Others don't. Some families are defined exclusively by blood relationships while others collect and recruit new family members as time passes.
Holidays can be hard when family members die. How do families cope with loss around the holidays?
