The one where Craig remembers he has a blog.

The last time I wrote here was 2019. I didn’t know it then, but life was about to change in every possible way. By the spring of 2020, COVID had arrived, work felt all-consuming, and my wife and I were expecting our first child. It was terrifying but also grounding. In a world where almost nothing felt certain, the fact that a baby was coming felt more real than anything else.

That moment marked the beginning of a new identity, one that has taken me pretty much five years to develop a comfort. Especially as our second child joined us, I grappled with what this all would mean for remaining the partner I wanted to be with my wife and the professional I wanted to be at work.

My experience of travel describes the shift conveniently. Before, I traveled often: for work, for exploration. With COVID my travel fell off a cliff. Initially, that was the same reason as everyone else but later became more about balancing the demands of family/home life. Recently, for the first time in years, my wife and I traveled on our own, just the two of us, to the Azores. (Thanks mom, one of two people reading this, for watching the kids). Being away together reminded me not just of how travel shapes me — but how I, in turn, use my experiences to shape the things that matter most to me: helping me and those around me learn and grow, deepening relationships, and applying my skills and background where they can be most useful.

I think it is fair to say I am settling into a clumsy side-hug of being a parent alongside a professional life where I can support others to meaningfully thrive and grow at work. Indeed, certain things have felt even truer to me now when they arise in one moment while managing a complex 5-year program and in the next moment while trying to convince a 5-year-old it is time for bed.

Over these years, we have been doing a lot in my fields of health tech, AI, and value-based care: thinking, learning, and growing. Though I have been commenting on this evolution aloud in my living room — as cruel and unusual for my wife and family as it sounds — I think it will be differently fun and instructive for me and others to process the thoughts more visibly.

And, it feels like a great time to pick up the pen. I’ve dictated most of this, “vibe written” other parts, and I’m looking forward to rescanning the past in my notes, curating with the help of AI, and sharing more ideas. I’d like to prioritize presence over polish. I beg your forgiveness in advance if this starts to resemble too much AI-enabled slop as I rediscover my voice.

So — first, after five years, this post. More to come.