backyard playsetsIt's that time of 12 months again: playset season. Enough time when millions of parents get ready to shell out thousands of dollars for small-scale yard jungle gyms because of their beloved children.For years I'd managed to efficiently avert this dependence on 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 backyard my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably going back inside to the couch. I wanted to shoo them back again outdoors and shout, "Go play!" But using what? We didn't have a pool or swings or perhaps a paved driveway to get on. I chosen for my very 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 breeze, danced in my own head. But I wanted a very important factor to be properly clear. If I would take out another mortgage to financing a playset, my kids were going to have to live on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up possessed a house-like enclosure and a picnic desk and was basically as large as my house. It was certainly the right dwelling for just 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 understood, the facts on the floor don't quite match the eye-sight, and so it was with the playset.My research on playsets commenced prior to springtime because I thought if we bought in the off-season, we may be capable of geting a reasonable price. I used to be mistaken. You will find no acceptable prices when it comes to playsets. I have no idea if the hardware is solid silver or if the structure is made of rare, endangered hardwood, but bargains are not to be had. THEREFORE I considered a choice a friend suggested: used playsets. You can get a whole playset for half the price. That acquired my name written around 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 ruin his lawn. If, however, I would insist he recognize he has children and they require toys and games, then he decided he would need a deluxe model worthy of being put atop his pristine garden.Still, I extended in my seek out pre-owned models, convinced I could satisfy 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 benefit was it only cost about a thousand bucks. Win was mine.Then my husband described the playset was someplace outside the 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 visit get it. I nodded silently. I comprehended. 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 quite a daunting task. There are numerous makes and models and heights and configurations to choose from, and everything the genuine playthings are extra. Perhaps you may buy a reasonably cheap wooden frame, but your children can do is stare at it wistfully since it would be nothing more than an large sawhorse.I continued to shop around online for weeks before day finally arrived when I discovered my dream golf swing set. It acquired everything I'd dreamed. Really the only problem was I couldn't afford it. During the period of the next weeks, I stopped at the playset many times, hoping to occur upon a sale. Then, mid-summer, it finally happened. The company had what constituted a storewide sale in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I used to be 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 strike me with the expenses. Just under $2,000. And it was FREE gangplank weekend!The playset has been bought and paid for, shipped and erected inside our yard for nearly each year, but it hasn't been played with much. Or maybe I should say it hasn't been played with as much as $2,000 would warrant. We haven't made our cash back on it yet, but a few items have been worthy of their price. The swings and trapeze pub. That's really all you have to. Take it from someone whose been burnt.The youngsters still wander aimlessly about the garden, ignoring the main one component, the priciest one, for which 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...