like a notch in the ol’ belt.
another notch is in my belt-
my waist is getting smaller-
because that belt is getting
tighter-
so many holes-
so many years-
i used to play with big blocks as
a kid-
those giant plastic bricks that used to
fit perfectly together-
i could stack them any way
and they’d remain sturdy-
i could build them high,
and when they fell, they fell
softly-
and i’d laugh as i rebuilt my
wall-
a sliver of the past slips away each
day-
and i’m very aware of it-
i cinch my belt each day
and examine all of the notches that
i’ve created-
all of the experiences-
all of the memories-
that seem so far away-
i try not to live in them-
but they live in me,
so it’s almost unavoidable-
my day is their day-
and my future is partly based
on their existence-
i used to play with giant bricks as
as kid-
i would build them to the sky
and admire them-
and it was never the end
of the world when they fell-
as challenging as it was to erect
my brick forts,
it was never impossible to simply
try again-
and so i did-
and so i have-
and so i will*
musings at random. 
I guess life can still be viewed as a game, even after we’ve “grown up.” when “shit happens” to us as adults, too bad we can’t/don’t laugh it off, so to speak, more often, knowing that we can rebuild what fell.
when i think of more notches on a belt, i can see the additional notches going in either direction – towards the end to, as you say “grow,” or towards the back which also indicates growth – another past memory being revisited and resolved; therefore shrinking could mean less turbulence, less distress, therefore more peace and ultimately growth. to me, it appears that what he’s saying is that when things fall apart (like the building blocks), and they will, it’s not the end of the world, don’t you fall apart – tomorrow is another day, and that he (the writer) will strive to remember that (and so i will).