Do you believe in miracles?
It's a measure of how convinced I've become of HIMYM's centrality in the CBS lineup that I didn't even think to be worried about its being renewed. If it weren't coming back in the fall, how would the ending to this season look? Most of us, despite the little hints that Stella fits some of YUG's profile (she was at that New Year's party, for instance), don't think she's the mother. So when Ted proposes to her in this season-ending cliffhanger, we know that this changes Ted's life — but probably because his eventual union with YUG wouldn't have happened without it. (Maybe because she says no?)
Everybody knows that Barney and Ted had to get back together, so that's hardly a miracle. It certainly was accomplished sweetly, what with all the bro tears and the remorse. And I believe that Alleged Miracle #1 in Marshall's list (pencil falls up the ceiling of McLaren's, bounces up Barney's nose) was one of the best Barney moments of the season ("Am I dead? Am I dead?"). But no, not a miracle.
But after tonight's episode, I do believe. Because the writers heard the deepest yearning of my heart and acknowledged that Robin and Barney are destined for each other. I felt it when they got together at the end of "Sandcastles in the Sand." I doubted myself when the whole thing turned into a Barney-Ted fight in "The Goat." But tonight, when Barney gazed tenderly at Robin while Lily and Marshall were wondering what great love of his life flashed before his eyes right before the bus hit ("a boob suit covered with money"), it all came true.