Linda Holmes contemplates How I Met Your Mother:
In truth, the story didn't have to be called How I Met Your Mother. It could have been called How We Bought This House, or How I Bought That Couch, or How I Learned To Make Bread. What matters is that the show is structured around a philosophy that is fundamentally this: However your life goes, that's the story of how you ended up where you are, and therefore, every turn your story took, whether sad or happy at the time, is part of how you achieved whatever joy you have. It's not really How I Met Your Mother that Ted is explaining to his kids. It's How I Got Here, and How You Were Born, and How Everything Turned Out Okay.
The Dish 