backyard playsetsIt's that time of yr again: playset season. Enough time when an incredible number of parents get ready to shell out thousands of dollars for small-scale back garden jungle gyms because of their beloved children.For a long time I'd were able to efficiently avert this requirement of suburban family life. And, 1 day something happened.I cracked.I cannot even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not even sure they wanted a playset. No. I wanted one.Whenever we were outdoors in the backyard my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably coming back inside to the couch. I wanted to shoo them back again outside and shout, "Go play!" But with what? We didn't have a pool or swings or even a paved driveway to attract on. I chose for my own sanity and their success we needed a playset.Visions of summertime times whiled away on a swingset or in the attached fort with children's laughter floating by on a balmy air flow, danced in my head. But I needed a very important factor to be properly clear. EASILY would take out another mortgage to financing a playset, my kids were heading to have to live on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up acquired a house-like enclosure and a picnic stand and was practically as big as my house. It had been certainly the right dwelling for just two smallish people. They could come inside for the wintertime but not until then. If we ran some electric wiring and domestic plumbing to the fort, I might not ever have to see them again.But much like most fantasies, once became aware, the facts on the floor don't quite match the perspective, and so it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced prior to spring because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we may be capable of geting a reasonable price. I had been mistaken. You will find no fair prices when it comes to playsets. I don't know if the hardware is sturdy silver or if the composition is constructed of rare, endangered lumber, but bargains are not to be enjoyed. THEREFORE I considered a choice a friend advised: used playsets. One could get a complete playset for half the purchase price. That experienced my name written all over it.Unfortunately, it did not have my husband's name written onto it. He was against the complete playset idea from the beginning--it would damage his lawn. If, however, I was going to insist he recognize he has children and that they require toys, then he driven he would need a deluxe model worthy of being positioned atop his pristine garden.Still, I continuing in my search for pre-owned models, persuaded I could meet us both. And I was successful in finding a used playset in relatively good shape large enough for two school-age kids. It even got a rock wall structure. But the best part was it only cost in regards to a thousand bucks. Triumph was mine.Then my hubby pointed out the playset was anywhere beyond your tri-state area, and we didn't have a car large enough to move it even if we do want to take the half-day drive to look get it. I nodded silently. I realized. And with much heart, I quit on my used playset search.For those who have never had the experience of searching for a playset, it's a significant daunting task. There are lots of makes and models and heights and configurations to choose from, and everything the real playthings are extra. I suppose you could buy a reasonably cheap wooden structure, but all your children can do is stare at it wistfully since it would be only an oversized sawhorse.I continued to shop around online for weeks before day finally came when I spotted my dream golf swing set. It experienced everything I'd thought. The only problem was I couldn't afford it. Over the course of the following weeks, I been to the playset several times, hoping to happen upon a sale. Then, mid-summer, it finally took place. The company got what constituted a storewide sales in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I was sold.Free gangplank weekend was an enormous coup for me, and I breathed a sigh of relief that the hunting and agonizing and planning was over. Then your sales guy struck me with the invoice. Just under $2,000. And it was FREE gangplank weekend!The playset has been bought and paid for, provided and erected inside our yard for almost annually, but it hasn't been played with much. Or possibly I should say it hasn't been played with around $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 pub. That's really all you have to. Take it from someone whose been burned.The youngsters still wander aimlessly about the backyard, ignoring the main one component, the priciest one, that they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It rests empty except for the parrots and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Television in there...