We finally met the mother on the How I Met Your Mother Season 8 premiere last night. Sort of.

Following Barney and Robin's wedding, Ted was simply reading a book on a bench when a woman exited a taxi with a guitar in one hand a a yellow umbrella in the other. That was the mother, wasn't it?

Yes, viewers, you can exhale: "That’s where it happens," producer Craig Thomas told reporters last week of the wildly anticipated meeting.

Thomas would not reveal whether the actress actually donning the quirky shoes seen on screen is the woman who has been cast in this famous role, but he did tease that "we’ll see more of that moment as the series goes on... We’re going to fill in all of the blanks on that day."

Thomas and fellow showrunner Carter Bays have been upfront that they are writing this season as if it will be the sitcom's last, even as negotiations continue with CBS for Season 9.

"We really feel like this launches the last season," Bays said of the premiere, referring to the sight of the mother as "the finish line."

But if How I Met Your Mother does come back for another go-around in 2013-2014? It won't do so without a full cast. Promises Thomas:

"It’s a family, and we’re finishing this thing together."

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.