Mothers, grandmothers, mothers-in-law - those of us blessed with awesome examples are indeed lucky. And an extra bonus if they also have great senses of humor.  So this feature pays homage to the upcoming Mother's Day next month with some funny gift ideas.

First up is the Favorite Child Mug gift from PersonalizedShed, shown above. I can just imagine siblings getting different personalized mugs with each of them as the favorite!
Raising children is not easy. I know because I am sure I am responsible for some of my mother's grey hairs while I was growing up!  Shown below is the Mom's last nerve organic soy candle from RayofPitchBlackShop!


Are you a mother and do you have a favorite chair?  Someone should get this Mom's cushion for you! From TumeCoDesign. 


Mothers-in-law often get a bad rap, being the butt of many a joke. But when we are blessed with good and loving ones, then we should be grateful. This lovely mother-in-law mug is a great gift from Ransalex. 



We mothers just can't help it as we sometimes are guilty of giving unsolicited parenting advice! This Advice enamel pin is from TheMindfulSpot. 


While we were growing up, my younger brother always joked that I was only chronologically ahead! According to him, he was far "superior" in every way! If this mother's day mug existed back then, I am pretty sure he would have bought it! From JubileeMugs. 


My maternal grandmother did indeed spoil me, her first grandchild, but she probably would have denied it!   This funny grandma t-shirt is from BMARTEE.  


This Grandma's tote bag says it all about the joys of being a grandparent, but without the work of raising children!  From VincenzaSilviaCream. 


Trevor Noah's Praise for His Mother

When I read South African comedian's book, Born a Crime, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. His riveting memoir tells his story of being born and raised during South Africa's Apartheid era (1948 - early 1990's - the country finally became democratic in 1994). 

Apartheid was a harsh and cruel system where the "races" were institutionally segregated by skin color just to preserve the control and privileges of the white people. The system dictated where people could live and how much resources were allocated to them. It was also completely idiotic. There were the whites, Indians, coloreds (mixed race) and the blacks - in that order of status. Where did they put Asians who are fair skinned?  That depended on where they were from. Some Asian nations like Japan had trading relationships with South Africa, so they were deemed honorary whites! If not, Asians were sometimes allocated into the colored group which didn't make any sense at all! 

(Another custom which doesn't make any sense is the way mixed race people in the US, like ex-President Barack Obama, are deemed black only. They are both white and black and should celebrate both cultures.)

Born a Crime

Trevor Noah was born a crime because at the time of his birth, whites and blacks were not allowed by law to have a relationship together, let alone marry.  The son of a Swiss German and Black Xhosa (the tribe with the click language) mother, he had to be hidden by his mother in his early years because being much lighter skinned than her, he could have been taken, by force, from the impoverished Black area where his maternal family lived, to the Colored area. 

His biopic,in many ways, is a paean - high praise for his remarkable mother, Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah. She wanted him and raised him despite the heavy odds stacked against her. She is independent, spirited, fearless and stubborn.  A deeply religious woman, she took Trevor to church 3 times on Sundays, prayer meeting, Bible study, Youth church on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. They didn't have reliable transportation nor were the streets safe with riots at the time, but still Patricia found ways to get them places despite the dangers. How dangerous?  She once threw Trevor and herself (with his baby half brother in her arms) out of a moving minivan when she became convinced the driver was going to kill them.

A superb teacher, her firm hand in their upbringing meant Trevor and his much younger half brothers developed social and mental resilience as you can see from the stories Trevor tells about himself and his family. He is a polyglot, speaking several languages because by doing so, he could better integrate into various South African groups.

Here is his little skit called The Love of Jesus, from the Son of Patricia on Netflix. 


When Trevor was 8, his mother married and had two sons by a Black African.  This lovely story is how his much younger half-brother explained to a school friend why he and Trevor did not look alike. A masterclass on why we are all humans with just varying amounts of skin pigment, delivered by a 10 year old, in a single sentence.  (Please let me know if you are not on Facebook and cannot see the following video. I will post the story in the comments if so).


Unfortunately, Trevor's stepfather abused both him and his mother. She divorced this man and later married another man. The ex-stepfather then shot Patricia, one of the two bullets going through her head but she miraculously survived. This was the book's ending. 

Trevor himself recounts the aftermath showing his true brilliance as a stand up comic to make what was a near family tragedy into something funny. He hopes that this would bring attention to domestic violence in South Africa and the need to take action against it. Patricia had repeatedly reported the abuse from her ex-husband but the police never did anything. 

I highly recommend his book, Born a Crime. The audio version would be even better as he narrates it. 


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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM