backyard playsetsIt's that point of season again: playset season. Enough time when millions of parents prepare yourself to shell out thousands of dollars for small-scale back garden jungle gyms because of their beloved children.For a long time I'd managed to effectively avert this dependence on suburban family life. And, one day something happened.I cracked.I can't even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not sure they wished a playset. No. I needed one.Whenever we were outdoors in the yard my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably going back inside to the sofa. I needed to shoo them back outside the house and shout, "Go play!" But with what? We didn't have a pool or swings or perhaps a paved driveway to sketch on. I determined for my very own sanity and their survival we needed a playset.Visions of summer 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 needed a very important factor to be perfectly clear. EASILY would take out a second mortgage to fund a playset, my kids were heading to have to go on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up got a house-like enclosure and a picnic stand and was practically as large as my house. It had been certainly the right dwelling for just two smallish people. They could come inside for the winter however, not until then. And if we ran some electric wiring and domestic plumbing to the fort, I would never have to see them again.But much like most fantasies, once became aware, the facts on the floor don't quite match the vision, and so it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced well before spring because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we may be able to get a reasonable price. I got mistaken. You will discover no affordable prices when it comes to playsets. I have no idea if the hardware is stable gold or if the composition is made of rare, endangered lumber, but bargains aren't to be had. THEREFORE I considered an option a friend suggested: used playsets. You can get a complete playset for 1 / 2 the price. That possessed 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 harm his turf. If, however, I would insist he recognize he has children and that they require toys, then he identified he would need a deluxe model worth being put atop his pristine garden.Still, I continuing in my search for pre-owned models, convinced I could fulfill us both. And I was successful in finding a used playset in relatively good shape large enough for two school-age kids. It even possessed a rock wall structure. But the best part was it only cost in regards to a thousand bucks. Success was mine.Then my hubby described the playset was anywhere beyond your tri-state area, and we didn't have a car large enough to transport it even if we does want to take the half-day drive to travel 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 reasonably cheap wooden structure, 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 shop around online for weeks until the day finally emerged when I noticed my dream swing action set. It had everything I'd dreamed. The sole problem was I couldn't afford it. Over the course of the following weeks, I stopped at the playset several times, hoping to occur upon a sales. Then, mid-summer, it finally happened. The company possessed what constituted a storewide deal in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I had been sold.Free gangplank weekend was an enormous coup for me personally, and I breathed a sigh of pain relief 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 payed for, supplied and erected in our yard for almost a year, but it was not played with much. Or maybe I will say it was not played with approximately $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our cash back onto it yet, but a few items have been well worth their price. The swings and trapeze pub. That's really all you need. Take it from someone whose been burnt.The kids still wander aimlessly about the back garden, ignoring the one component, the priciest one, that they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It sits empty aside from the wild birds and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Television in there...