A text message accidentally sent by a friend led to a Thanksgiving tradition that is now in its seventh year.

Jamal Hinton confirmed on Tuesday via an Instagram post, that he will spend Thanksgiving with Wanda Dench. In 2016, she thought she was texting Hinton to invite him, but she really texted Hinton.

“To answer all of your questions, Thanksgiving year 7 has been planned out!” We will see you Thursday, guys! Hinton stated this in the caption of a photograph that showed him standing beside Dench outside a Cheesecake Factory.

In 2016, Dench from Mesa, Arizona sent Hinton a text inviting them to dinner. It was for Hinton’s grandson, who had recently changed his number. Hinton, then 17, received the message as he sat in class at Desert Vista High School.

They both figured it out and sent each other selfies, with Hinton asking if Hinton could still come over. Dench replied, “Of course, you can. Dench texted, “Of course, you can. That’s what grandmas do… Feed everyone.”

Hinton has posted photos of the holiday every year to his social media. He shared a photo in 2019 and wrote, “Blessed that we have such wonderful people within our lives.”

Dench and her husband, Richard Dench, still shared the holiday after his death.

Hinton wrote that “This Thanksgiving and all the holidays ahead aren’t going be the same as previous ones, but we will make good of it,” in a 2020 post. Rest in Peace Lonnie, and all those we lost this year. We will miss you very much. We are grateful for your presence in our lives.

Dench stated, “I would have missed on a wonderful relationship,” when she was asked about what would have happened if Hinton hadn’t been invited over many years ago. “I have changed my views so much about the younger generation and now that I have reflected back over all these years, they changed their lives.

@todayshow After years of #thanksgiving dinners together, Wanda Dench says that Jamal Hinton is "in my heart for life." The heartwarming tale of a grandmother mistakenly texting a teenage boy, bringing the two strangers together for the food-filled holiday, has continued for a seventh year. #todayshow #goodnews ♬ original sound – TODAY Show