Power Parent: Jonathan Turner

By Giggle Magazine

Name: Jonathan Turner

Occupation:
Real Estate Attorney at Scruggs & Carmichael, P.A.

What is your job title? Junior Partner to Philip A. DeLaney, Esq.

Family (children, spouse, etc.): My wife, Lindsey, and I have three children: Lorelei (5), Lanier (3), and Denver (9 months); and Selah the dog

Early starts mixed with late nights can certainly make for exhausting days for Jonathan Turner. But with his wife, Lindsey, and children cheering him on, he stays motivated.

What does your typical workday look like?

I’m awake sometime between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. to either take over baby monitor duties from my wife or to go for a run. If I’m staying in, I usually make my morning coffee and either put the girls’ lunches together, read, or log in remotely to my work computer.  After the kids are awake, my wife and I will fix the girls breakfast and feed Denver his bottle and yogurt cup. If it is my day to drive the girls to school, we sing songs, play 20 Questions, or the girls take turns picking YouTube videos about dinosaurs, GoPro roller coasters or downhill mountain biking, or something like “How to build a tree house.” At the office, I spend most of the day at my desk or at the closing table where I review residential and commercial transaction files’ surveys, title search results, municipal lien search results, and closing statements; communicate with parties to a transaction, realtors, lenders, and other title agents and attorneys; draft and review documents for lenders, borrowers/buyers, and sellers; and meet with all the parties to sign documents and close the transactions. Occasionally I will travel away from the office to deliver original documents or meet with buyers/sellers who must sign documents but are unable to leave their own jobs or busy schedules. The most rewarding part of any day is closing for a first-time homebuyer — they may be nervous, but it is a happy occasion for everyone in the room. In the evening, my wife and I coordinate who will pick up the girls from daycare and who will make any quick errands on the way home. Once the girls are all fed and bathed, I tuck them in their beds, usually by carrying them both on my back. Finally, my wife and I eat dinner, clean up the dishes and laundry, walk the dog and exhaustedly get to bed to start again the next day!

How do you balance work life and family life?

For work-related meetings and activities, my wife and I stay balanced with good communication and coordinating our schedules (she’s an attorney, too). But for work-related project deadlines (i.e., drafting commercial loan documents), if I have to leave the office for the daycare or pediatrician, I will connect remotely to my office computer from home after the kids are asleep or before they wake up the next morning.

What are 5 things you must have at work?

Computer, phone, scanner/printer, conference table and two fantastic assistants.

What advice would you give other working parents?

For working parents, little problems during the day (baby throws up on your work pants, kid spills fruit pouch in your car, kid rides her bike over other kid’s baby doll, kid puts ChapStick on her lips but then all over her forehead, etc.) require long-term analysis. When there is an issue or decision to deal with, you must consider the following: “In 10 years, what impact will my reaction or solution to [issue] have on my family/job/life?” Insert any problem and answer the question for each item: family, job and life. Then decide what to do, how to act or how to approach your problem. Doing this makes the little daily challenges seem like nothing at all.

What sacrifices/compromises have you had to make?

As a parent, time is the most obvious. My wife and I joke about the carefree days when we could sleep to 9 or 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning, wander down to the gym, have a nice lunch, come back home for an afternoon of watching TV or a nap and enjoy a quiet dinner. The other sacrifices/compromises are all standard ones for a dad of two girls: knowing things I shouldn’t. I can recognize Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinky Pie, etc. I have rehearsed and executed interpretive dance routines to “Let It Go,” “A Whole New World,” “Roar” and “Shake It Off.”  I know how to do a flat spin, ice cream scoop, arm roll and finger twirl.

When and how do you make time for yourself?

Ten- to 12-mile training runs around the neighborhood from 4:30 to 6 a.m. with either my running mix playlist or a Mike Fabarez podcast.

Who is your greatest inspiration?

My parents. Many different people inspire me for specific aspects of my life, whether I emulate what I have seen accomplished or push to succeed on their behalf. My parents cover the most categories.

Who are your biggest supporters?

My wife. It may appear that my girls are my biggest supporters — FaceTime calls while I’m at the office or cheering for me when I’m running. But my wife is the one who taught them how to call and how to cheer — their excitement is a reflection of her.

What is your go-to breakfast?

Coffee.

What is your coffee order?

At home it is a half packet of Carnation Essential Breakfast mix (rich milk chocolate), a light or medium roast Keurig cup, a teaspoon of honey and Coffee-mate creamer.

At Starbucks it is a venti white chocolate mocha, iced, three pumps hazelnut, two pumps vanilla, extra shot, with whipped cream.

At Fresh Market it is a 20-ounce suicide of all the daily brews (including half & half).

What is your must-have work tech item?

Internet access to the county official records books.

Finish this sentence:
I hope that I have taught my children to take pride in things they are passionate about, to respect others and to pray.

If you had a day all to yourself, what would you do? (Money is not a factor)

Honestly, I’d probably do work around the house. And if money is not a factor, I would hire some guys to help me reconfigure the bathroom, put in a new dryer, replace carpets for a couple rooms and install a wall organization system in the garage.

If you could have one super power, what would it be? Why?

Hmm … maybe teleportation? Or the ability to duplicate myself each morning so I’m able to get things done at multiple locations or quicker at a single location.

Which TV character most resembles you? Why?

I have been told I resemble Phil Dunphy (“Modern Family”) and Ross Geller (“Friends”).