First of all, I totally missed any references to why this episode is titled: Vesuvius.
But that's probably because I'm bad at ancient history. The reference is for Mount Vesuvius the volcano that destroyed Pompeii.
However, as we near the series finale (3 episodes left!), the big question of the series isn't so much how Ted met the mother. Rather, the big question is, why is he telling the story, and why is it so detailed?
Halfway through the episode, we get our first solid hint. As Ted spins his yarn, the mother interrupts him to let him know that she knows this story already. Dejectedly, Ted replies that he's just an old man that spins tired old yarns. The mother responds with:
"I love your yarns. I hope you never stop spinning them...(But)...I just worry about you. I don't want you to be the guy who lives in his stories. Life only moves forward."
Ted appears to be in this very extended bit of nostalgia because of some tragedy that he hasn't quite gotten past. It will be curious to find out what it is, and how the present Ted gets past it before the end of the series.
How many of us have allowed the past to chain us down, rather than try to move forward?
#3dc
-- wake.eat.sleep