backyard playsetsIt's that time of yr again: playset season. The time when millions of parents prepare yourself to pay out thousands of dollars for small-scale backyard jungle gyms because of their beloved children.For a long time I'd managed to effectively avert this requirement of suburban family life. And, 1 day something happened.I cracked.I can't even blame my kids. They never badgered me or complained. I'm not sure they required a playset. No. I needed one.Whenever we were outside the house in the yard my kids wandered around aimlessly, invariably coming back inside to the sofa. I wanted to shoo them again outdoors and shout, "Go play!" But using what? We didn't have a pool or swings or even a paved driveway to get on. I chose for my very own sanity and their survival we needed a playset.Visions of summer months days and nights whiled away over a swingset or in the fastened fort with children's laughter floating by on a balmy air flow, danced in my head. But I wanted one thing to be perfectly clear. If I would take out another mortgage to finance a playset, my kids were heading to have to go on it--literally.The playset we eyed-up experienced a house-like enclosure and a picnic desk and was pretty much as big as my house. It was certainly a suitable dwelling for just two smallish people. They could come inside for the wintertime but not until then. Of course, if we ran some electric wiring and plumbing to the fort, I might not ever have to see them again.But as with most fantasies, once became aware, the facts on the ground don't quite match the eyesight, 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 would be capable of geting a reasonable price. I used to be mistaken. You will discover no affordable prices as it pertains to playsets. I have no idea if the hardware is stable platinum or if the composition is constructed of rare, endangered timber, but bargains are not to be had. THEREFORE I considered an option a friend recommended: used playsets. One could get a complete playset for half the purchase price. That had 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 affect his lawn. If, however, I was going to insist he recognize he has children and they require toys and games, then he driven he would desire a deluxe model worth being positioned atop his pristine garden.Still, I continuing in my seek out 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 acquired a rock wall membrane. But the best part was it only cost about a thousand bucks. Success was mine.Then my hubby described the playset was anywhere outside the 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 move get it. I nodded silently. I known. 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 quite a daunting task. There are various makes and models and heights and configurations to choose from, and all the genuine playthings are extra. I suppose you could buy a fairly cheap wooden structure, but all of your children would be able to 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 noticed my dream swing action set. It experienced everything I'd thought. The sole problem was I couldn't afford it. Over the course of the next weeks, I frequented the playset several times, hoping to happen upon a sale. Then, mid-summer, it finally happened. The company experienced what constituted a storewide sales in playset circles: free gangplank weekend. I got 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 the sales guy struck 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 inside our yard for nearly yearly, but it hasn't been used much. Or maybe I will say it hasn't been 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 club. That's really all you need. Take it from someone whose been burned.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 parrots and the squirrels. But maybe if we installed a Tv set in there...