Midlife Realization

I've always been a very methodical and analytical person in my approach to life. I never imagined myself engaging with anything unconventional or outside the norm until recently, but here I am, confessing something that's rather unexpected even for me. It all started about six months ago. One of my students mentioned some kink websites during a casual conversation. At first, it was just idle curiosity, nothing more. But as days went by, I found myself spending more and more time reading about various forms of adult play. The one that caught my interest the most was DDLG, Domination, Discipline, Love, Guidance. As someone in my mid-50s, you'd think I would be set in my ways, but apparently not. The idea of being both a mentor and a disciplinarian to an adult partner intrigued me. It's like channeling the authority figures from your childhood, but now as a consensual adult role. I began to read extensively about DDLG dynamics and soon found myself considering how it might work in practice. The mental images were quite vivid, almost overwhelming at times. And yes, I'll admit that when it comes to the physical aspects of this dynamic, my fantasies are very explicit, whips, restraints, verbal humiliation, I've tried to be as thorough and detailed as possible. One night, while browsing through a DDLG subreddit, something caught my eye: a post asking for advice on approaching their partner with their desires. It made me pause. Here I was thinking about it, but what if I'm the one who needs guidance? So here's where I am now. I have all these thoughts and fantasies swirling around in my head, yet no real idea how to proceed or even if this is a phase that will pass once curiosity wears off. Is it normal for someone like me, so late into adulthood, to suddenly feel such an interest in something so unconventional? Am I just indulging a midlife crisis, or could there really be something here worth exploring further? Any advice from anyone out there who has gone through this before would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.