“Don’t folks in America have summer homes?” The word Babcia used was the Polish version of да́ча (“dacha”), a Russian term for a seasonal home, often in the forest or at the lake.

Family homes often serve that role here in Poland.

Someone stays behind; everyone else marries and moves away. The result: a summer home.

Then everyone — aunts, uncles, children, grandchildren — can spend the summer there. And if there’s enough room, one can even set up a soccer field.

A few apple trees and you have the perfect place for a swing.

And of course, there’s the obligatory fire pit.

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