This.
My wife of five years passed away last summer. I quickly realized as that much as I loved her, understood her mind and heart there was soooo much I didn't know about her. We didn't go through our personal papers together. It seemed we were always busy doing something else, time for that later. Once she was diagnosed years of life were about beating the fucking cancer and not let it stop our dreaming a future together. And then, seemingly suddenly, it was too late.
But my baby was a packrat. She made hard copies of hundreds of emails, some of which were just a joy to read. She had every letter she ever received, letters she had written her mom from childhood through her mother's death (like mother like daughter). Hundreds of photographs I didn't know existed. Short stories, homework, failed little craft experiments, diaries and travel journals. Working through her papers and internet presence has helped. I am glad I'm still getting to know her.
I pale in comparison, I realize I've let a lot of my past disappear. Teh speaks with a lot of wisdom here.