backyard playsetsIt's that point of time again: playset season. The time when millions of parents get ready to pay out thousands of dollars for small-scale yard jungle gyms for his or her beloved children.For a long time I'd were able to effectively avert this requirement of suburban family life. And then, 1 day something happened.I cracked.I cannot even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not even sure they sought a playset. No. I needed one.If we were outside in the yard my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably coming back inside to the couch. I wanted to shoo them back 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 draw on. I made a decision for my very own sanity and their success we needed a playset.Visions of summer days whiled away on the swingset or in the attached fort with children's laughter floating by on the balmy air flow, danced in my own head. But I wanted one thing to be flawlessly clear. EASILY would take out another mortgage to fund a playset, my kids were going to have to go on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up got a house-like enclosure and a picnic stand and was virtually as large as my house. It was 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 to the fort, I would not ever have to see them again.But much like most fantasies, once realized, the facts on the floor don't quite match the perspective, therefore it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced well before spring because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we might be able to get an acceptable price. I used to be mistaken. You can find no realistic prices as it pertains to playsets. I have no idea if the hardware is sound silver or if the framework is made of rare, endangered wood, but bargains are not to be had. So I considered an option a friend recommended: used playsets. You can get a whole playset for fifty percent the price. That acquired 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 ruin his grass. 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 worth being placed atop his pristine yard.Still, I continued in my seek out pre-owned models, persuaded I could satisfy us both. And I was successful to find a used playset in relatively good condition large enough for just two school-age kids. It even possessed a rock wall structure. But the best benefit was it only cost in regards to a thousand bucks. Win was mine.Then my husband pointed out the playset was somewhere beyond your 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 look get it. I nodded silently. I comprehended. And with much heart, I quit on my used playset search.For those who have never had the knowledge of shopping for a playset, it's quite a daunting task. There are several makes and models and heights and configurations to choose from, and all the genuine playthings are extra. Perhaps you can buy a fairly cheap wooden structure, but your children would be able to do is stare at it wistfully because it would be only an oversized sawhorse.I continued to shop around online for weeks until the day finally came when I noticed my dream swing action set. It had everything I'd thought. The only real problem was I couldn't find the money for it. Over the course of the next weeks, I frequented the playset many times, hoping to happen upon a deal. Then, mid-summer, it finally took place. The company experienced what constituted a storewide sale in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I used to be sold.Free gangplank weekend was an enormous coup for me personally, and I breathed a sigh of comfort that the hunting and agonizing and planning was over. Then the sales guy strike me with the charge. Slightly below $2,000. And it was FREE gangplank weekend!The playset has been bought and paid for, shipped and erected in our yard for almost annually, but it hasn't been used much. Or possibly I should say it was not played with around $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our money back on it yet, but a few items have been well worth their price. The swings and trapeze club. That's really all you need. Take it from someone whose been burned up.The kids still wander aimlessly about the back garden, ignoring the one component, the most expensive one, for which they lobbied so vehemently, the fort. It sits empty aside from the birds and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Television set in there...