backyard playsetsIt's that point of calendar year again: playset season. The time when an incredible number of parents get ready to pay out thousands of dollars for small-scale backyard jungle gyms for his or her beloved children.For a long time I'd managed to effectively 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 even sure they needed a playset. No. I wanted one.Whenever we were outdoors in the yard my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably coming back inside to the sofa. I needed to shoo them back outside and shout, "Go play!" But using what? We didn't have a pool or swings or even a paved driveway to bring on. I made the decision for my own sanity and their survival we needed a playset.Visions of summer months days and nights whiled away on a swingset or in the fastened fort with children's laughter floating by on a balmy breeze, danced in my own head. But I wanted one thing to be correctly clear. If I was going to take out another mortgage to funding a playset, my kids were heading to have to go on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up had a house-like enclosure and a picnic table and was basically as big as my house. It had been certainly the right dwelling for just two smallish people. They could come inside for the wintertime however, not until then. In case we ran some electric wiring and plumbing related to the fort, I would never have to see them again.But as with most fantasies, once realized, the facts on the ground don't quite match the perspective, therefore it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced well before springtime because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we would be able to get an acceptable price. I used to be mistaken. You can find no acceptable prices as it pertains to playsets. I have no idea if the hardware is stable gold or if the structure is constructed of rare, endangered lumber, but bargains are not to be had. So I considered a choice a friend advised: used playsets. One could get a complete playset for 50 percent the price. That possessed my name written all over 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 turf. If, however, I was going to insist he acknowledge he has children and that they require playthings, then he decided he would desire a deluxe model worthy of being placed atop his pristine yard.Still, I persisted in my search for pre-owned models, persuaded I could fulfill 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 had a rock wall membrane. But the best part was it only cost in regards to a thousand bucks. Victory was mine.Then my husband pointed out the playset was anywhere outside the tri-state area, and we didn't have a car large enough to move it even if we does want to take the half-day drive going obtain it. I nodded silently. I grasped. And with much 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 plenty of makes and models and levels and configurations to choose from, and all the genuine playthings are extra. I suppose you might buy a fairly cheap wooden body, but all of your children would be able to do is stare at it wistfully because it would be nothing more than an large sawhorse.I continued to comparison shop online for weeks until the day finally arrived when I discovered my dream golf swing set. It had everything I'd dreamed. The only problem was I couldn't find the money for it. During the period of the following weeks, I frequented the playset many times, hoping to occur upon a sale. Then, mid-summer, it finally occurred. The company experienced what constituted a storewide deal in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I used to be sold.Free gangplank weekend was an enormous coup for me, and I breathed a sigh of comfort that the hunting and agonizing and planning was over. Then the sales guy hit me with the monthly bill. Slightly below $2,000. And it was FREE gangplank weekend!The playset has been bought and paid for, supplied and erected in our yard for nearly per year, but it was not used much. Or possibly I should say it was not played with up to $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our cash 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 garden, ignoring the one component, the priciest one, for which they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It rests empty aside from the wild birds and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Television set in there...