Awaiting my son's passport

In the olden days-that is pre 9/11- I obtained my US passport about 2 weeks after I applied for it even though the official said it would take 6 to 8 weeks.When we applied for my son's passport we did not take into account new travel regulations for US citizens traveling to and from Canada and Mexico. These new regulations have increased the number of passport applications; so many in fact that it has put a tremendous burden on the State Dept. Using the regular service would cause my son's passport to arrive after our expected day of departure for Philippines.After several hours of listening to State Dept. voice mail, we were finally able to expedite his application by paying an additional fee. However, even with the expedited application, the passport has not arrived. I was assured by the Dept. that his passport is already on the schedule and we will receive it 2 to 3 days before our departure date. This, the representative said, was now S.O.P. because there are so many people needing passports. His passport is due to arrive via FedEx Wednesday or Thursday. We're anxious, but it's out of our hands.