There’s a lot of meaning behind our adorable little hippo. Let me explain: the military calls spouses and children of service members “dependents”, and the service member is the “sponsor”.  “Dependent” became “dependa” which then evolved to the slang term “dependapotomus”. By origin, it’s a derogatory term for a spouse who sits at home all day doing nothing.  It’s been used to describe someone who validates their own worth by their spouse’s rank or job, or someone who stirs up drama.  Every milspo has run across (and has been) a “dependa” at one time or another, but we are so much more than that.  Dependapothecary’s mission is to grab the insult by the tusks and celebrate how strong, capable, independent, and ambitious military spouses are. We rely on each other to navigate the hardships of military life (lengthy deployments, frequent moves, interruptions to our professional careers, raising children far from family…) and we couldn’t do it without a great sense of humor, too.

Our hippo represents our community. It stands for our unique contributions, silent sacrifice, and the relationships we forge that help us along the way.