backyard playsetsIt's that time of season again: playset season. The time when millions of parents prepare yourself to pay out thousands of dollars for small-scale backyard jungle gyms for his or her beloved children.For years I'd were able to efficiently avert this requirement of suburban family life. And then, 1 day something happened.I cracked.I can't even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not even sure they desired a playset. No. I needed one.Whenever we were outside in the garden my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably coming back inside to the sofa. I needed to shoo them back again outside and shout, "Go play!" But using what? We didn't have a pool or swings or even a paved driveway to draw on. I chose for my very own sanity and their success we needed a playset.Visions of summertime days whiled away over a swingset or in the attached fort with children's laughter floating by on a balmy air flow, danced in my own head. But I wanted a very important factor to be correctly clear. If I would take out a second mortgage to fund a playset, my kids were heading to have to live on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up experienced a house-like enclosure and a picnic stand and was nearly as large as my house. It was certainly a suitable dwelling for two smallish people. They could come inside for the wintertime however, not until then. If we ran some electric wiring and domestic plumbing to the fort, I would never have to see them again.But as with most fantasies, once understood, the facts on the floor don't quite match the eye-sight, therefore it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced well before spring and coil because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we would be capable of geting a reasonable price. I got mistaken. A couple of no realistic prices when it comes to playsets. I don't know if the hardware is solid gold or if the composition is constructed of rare, endangered lumber, but bargains are not to be had. So I considered an option a friend advised: used playsets. One could get a complete playset for half the price. That acquired my name written all over 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 turf. If, however, I was going to insist he recognize he has children and that they require playthings, then he driven he would desire a deluxe model worthy of being placed atop his pristine backyard.Still, I continuing in my seek out 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 just two school-age kids. It even had a rock wall structure. But the best part was it only cost in regards to a thousand bucks. Success was mine.Then my husband described the playset was someplace outside the tri-state area, and we didn't have a vehicle large enough to move it even if we performed want to take the half-day drive to visit obtain it. I nodded silently. I realized. And with a heavy heart, I quit on my used playset search.For those who have never had the knowledge of searching for a playset, it's a significant daunting task. There are various makes and models and levels and configurations to choose from, and all the actual playthings are extra. I suppose you may buy a fairly cheap wooden body, but your entire children would be able to do is stare at it wistfully since it would be only an oversized sawhorse.I continued to comparison shop online for weeks before day finally arrived when I discovered my dream golf swing set. It experienced everything I'd dreamed. The one problem was I couldn't afford it. Over the course of the next weeks, I stopped at the playset several times, hoping to happen upon a deal. Then, mid-summer, it finally occurred. The company experienced what constituted a storewide sale 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 your 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, supplied and erected in our yard for almost annually, but it was not played with much. Or maybe I should say it hasn't been played with up to $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our money back onto it yet, but a few items have been worth their price. The swings and trapeze bar. That's really all you have to. Take it from someone whose been burned up.The kids still wander aimlessly about the backyard, ignoring the main one component, the priciest one, that they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It rests empty aside from the parrots and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Tv set in there...