It seems that in America today, every day is National So-And-So Day, and every week is National-This-And-That Week. Some of these observances are meant to be silly. For example, did you know that the fourth week in April is National Karaoke Week and the second week in July is Nude Recreation Week? It’s true.

But it’s also true that many of these national weeks of recognition give us the opportunity to pause and pay our respects to people who have chosen to spend their professional lives in service to their fellow man. And this is one of those weeks.

This week, we celebrate National Teachers Week and National Nurses Week. Not only are both professions worthy of such recognition, we feel it somewhat of an injustice to both professions to have their celebrations coincide with one another. It’s sort of like having your birthday fall on Dec. 25.

But perhaps it is fitting that both are celebrated side by side. The dedication and love required for either role is unmatched in almost any other calling. The work can be exhausting, thankless and heartbreaking. But a job well done means that a person’s life may have literally been saved in the process.

We thank the teachers and nurses who have given so selflessly of themselves in the pursuit of making others’ lives better.