backyard playsetsIt's that time of 12 months again: playset season. Enough time when an incredible number of parents get ready to shell out thousands for small-scale garden jungle gyms because of their beloved children.For years I'd were able to successfully avert this requirement of suburban family life. And then, one day something happened.I cracked.I cannot even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not sure they needed a playset. No. I needed one.Whenever we were outdoors in the garden my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably coming back inside to the sofa. I needed to shoo them back outdoors and shout, "Go play!" But using what? We didn't have a pool or swings or perhaps a paved driveway to attract on. I chosen for my own sanity and their success we needed a playset.Visions of summer time times whiled away on the swingset or in the attached fort with children's laughter floating by on the balmy breeze, danced in my own head. But I wanted one thing to be correctly clear. If I would take out a second mortgage to financing a playset, my kids were going to have to go on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up had a house-like enclosure and a picnic stand and was practically as large as my house. It was certainly the right dwelling for just two smallish people. They could come inside for the winter however, not until then. In case we ran some electric wiring and domestic plumbing to the fort, I might not ever have to see them again.But as with most fantasies, once came to the realization, the facts on the ground don't quite match the vision, therefore it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced prior to spring because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we would be able to get a reasonable price. I used to be mistaken. A couple of no acceptable prices when it comes to playsets. I don't know if the hardware is solid yellow metal or if the framework is made of rare, endangered timber, but bargains are not to be enjoyed. THEREFORE I considered an option a friend suggested: used playsets. One could get a complete playset for 50 percent the price. That acquired my name written around it.Unfortunately, it did not have my husband's name written on it. He was against the whole playset idea from the beginning--it would harm his lawn. If, however, I would insist he recognize he has children and they require playthings, then he motivated he would need a deluxe model worthy of being placed atop his pristine grass.Still, I persisted in my search for pre-owned models, convinced I could meet us both. And I was successful in finding a used playset in relatively good condition large enough for two school-age kids. It even got a rock wall structure. But the best benefit was it only cost in regards to a thousand bucks. Success was mine.Then my hubby described the playset was someplace outside the tri-state area, and we didn't have a vehicle large enough to transport it even if we does want to take the half-day drive to visit get it. I nodded silently. I comprehended. And with much heart, I gave up on my used playset search.For people who have never had the knowledge of shopping for a playset, it's a significant daunting task. There are numerous makes and models and levels and configurations to choose from, and everything the actual playthings are extra. Perhaps you can buy a reasonably cheap wooden structure, but your children would be able to do is stare at it wistfully since it would be only an large sawhorse.I continued to comparison shop online for weeks until the day finally came when I spotted my dream golf swing set. It possessed everything I'd imagined. The only problem was I couldn't find the money for it. Over the course of the next weeks, I frequented the playset several times, hoping to occur upon a sale. Then, mid-summer, it finally took place. The company experienced what constituted a storewide sale in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I was sold.Free gangplank weekend was a huge coup for me, and I breathed a sigh of alleviation that the hunting and agonizing and planning was over. Then your sales guy struck me with the bill. Slightly below $2,000. And it was FREE gangplank weekend!The playset has been bought and payed for, sent and erected in our yard for nearly each year, but it hasn't been played with much. Or maybe I will say it hasn't been played with as much as $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our money back on it yet, but a few items have been well worth their price. The swings and trapeze pub. That's really all you have to. Take it from someone whose been used up.The kids still wander aimlessly about the backyard, ignoring the main one component, the most expensive one, that they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It rests empty aside from the birds and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Tv set in there...