backyard playsetsIt's that time of year again: playset season. Enough time when an incredible number of parents get ready to pay out thousands for small-scale garden jungle gyms for his or her beloved children.For a long time I'd managed to efficiently avert this requirement of suburban family life. And then, one day something happened.I cracked.I can't even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not even sure they sought a playset. No. I needed one.Whenever we were outdoors in the back garden my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably returning inside to the sofa. I needed to shoo them again outside the house and shout, "Go play!" But using what? We didn't have a pool or swings or perhaps a paved driveway to pull on. I chose for my very own sanity and their success we needed a playset.Visions of warmer summer months days whiled away on the swingset or in the fastened fort with children's laughter floating by on a balmy air flow, danced in my own head. But I wanted one thing to be properly clear. EASILY would take out another mortgage to funding a playset, my kids were going to have to live on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up possessed a house-like enclosure and a picnic desk and was pretty much as large as my house. It had been certainly the right dwelling for two smallish people. They could come inside for the wintertime however, not until then. Of course, if we ran some electric wiring and plumbing related to the fort, I would never have to see them again.But much like most fantasies, once realized, the facts on the ground don't quite match the eye-sight, therefore it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced well before planting season because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we may be capable of geting a reasonable price. I used to be mistaken. You can find no reasonable prices when it comes to playsets. I have no idea if the hardware is solid silver or if the composition is constructed of rare, endangered wood, but bargains are not to be enjoyed. THEREFORE I considered a choice a friend recommended: used playsets. You can get a complete playset for 50 % the purchase price. That had my name written around it.Unfortunately, it didn't have my husband's name written on it. He was against the complete playset idea from the beginning--it would affect his lawn. If, however, I was going to insist he recognize he has children and that they require toys and games, then he identified he would desire a deluxe model worth being placed atop his pristine yard.Still, I continued in my search for pre-owned models, convinced I could satisfy us both. And I was successful to find a used playset in relatively good shape large enough for just two school-age kids. It even acquired a rock wall structure. But the best part was it only cost about a thousand bucks. Victory was mine.Then my hubby pointed out the playset was someplace beyond your tri-state area, and we didn't have a vehicle large enough to transport it even if we performed want to take the half-day drive to move get it. I nodded silently. I comprehended. And with a heavy heart, I gave up on my used playset search.For people who have never had the knowledge of searching for a playset, it's quite a daunting task. There are several makes and models and heights and configurations to choose from, and everything the real playthings are extra. I suppose you might buy a reasonably cheap wooden structure, but all of your children would be able to do is stare at it wistfully because it would be only an large sawhorse.I continued to shop around online for weeks before day finally arrived when I discovered my dream swing set. It experienced everything I'd thought. Really the only problem was I couldn't find the money for it. Over the course of the next weeks, I stopped at the playset many times, hoping to occur upon a deal. Then, mid-summer, it finally happened. The company got what constituted a storewide deal in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I got sold.Free gangplank weekend was a huge coup for me, and I breathed a sigh of pain relief that the hunting and agonizing and planning was over. Then the sales guy struck me with the monthly bill. Slightly below $2,000. And it was FREE gangplank weekend!The playset has been bought and payed for, provided and erected inside our yard for nearly per year, but it hasn't been used much. Or maybe I should say it hasn't been played with around $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our cash back onto it yet, but a few items have been worthy of their price. The swings and trapeze pub. That's really all you have to. Take it from someone whose been burnt.The kids still wander aimlessly about the back garden, ignoring the main one component, the priciest one, for which they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It rests empty aside from the parrots and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a TV in there...