Understanding suffering

I have been doing a lot of thinking about suffering, and as I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am so thankful for the Catholic view of redemptive suffering.
However, I have realized that it is a difficult concept to explain to those who do not understand it.
Last night I was discussing the last two weeks with my parents, and I was talking about how I have been feeling a great deal of peace about everything lately, and I said that I found comfort in the fact that my sufferings were being used by God to help others etc.
At this point,we started having a disconnect. My parents are very practical people, and in their minds, it seemed that I was spending too much time thinking about my suffering. Their thinking is that there is nothing I can do to change any of this, so I just need to move on and not dwell on the past. I understand what they are saying, and honestly, like I said, I am feeling very peaceful about everything, and while I still have moments of sadness, it is far from an overwhelming feeling like it was after the initial blow.
I realize that people have greater sufferings than mine, and I am not trying to be a martyr or anything, but I don't think that it is right to minimize anyone's suffering because we have no idea how it is affecting that particular person.
I explained to them that there is a scale for suffering, and we are able to offer up even the little discomforts to God for specific intentions. I was telling them how I try to offer up my entire to day to God each morning, and I was explaining that I offer up little sufferings like changing poopy diapers, spilling milk, or banging my elbow on the door etc. They took this to mean that I was dwelling on all of my problems rather than focusing on the positive.
Then, I said that the more sufferings we have on earth, the more we are purifying our souls which can lessen our time in purgatory. They thought this sounded nuts, and I was explaining that this is Catholic theology etc... I moved away from this point because I felt that might be a little too deep at that point.
I ended up explaining that suffering has this horrible connotation with society, but really it is a good thing in many ways. I attempted to explain that when we offer up our sufferings, big or small, we are uniting our sufferings with Christ. I explained that Christ suffered on the cross for us, and His suffering helped us by purchasing our salvation. His suffering was used for the betterment of our souls! So doesn't it make sense that our sufferings can also be used for the betterment of souls? We are called to holiness, and in our struggle, we must embrace the cross to become more like Christ!
It ended up being a productive conversation, and it inspired me to dig deeper in my understanding of suffering. I will write more tomorrow about what I have learned! It is fascinating!